Thanks to Fractalus of Armchair Arcade for pointing out this BBC article about virtual gamers emerging from their virtual environments to reveal their physical appearance. The photographs in this article are definitely worth checking out. Yes, some of these pictures live up the stereotype--bad ass or super-babe in virtuality, "lowered expectations body type" in reality. However, this is not always the case, as these pictures reveal--I'd say more of these pictures show avatars that look surprisingly similar to their controllers' bodies. I was particularly touched by the small boy with the oxygen mask named Jason (aka Bladerunner), who suffers from muscular dystrophy.

For children like Jason, virtuality allow them to not only simulate navigating the world the way other people do; it allows them to go a step further and take advantage of game-features like Boba Fett's jetpack.