The developers of the niche space-based MMOG Eve Online have announced the inception of "the first democratically elected governing body in a virtual world."

While the term "governing" is a bit of a stretch, the idea behind the newly formed Council of Stellar Management, the company said, is to "deliberate on issues of importance to the EVE Isk community and work with representatives of CCP on the future evolution of EVE Online Isk."

The CSM election period will open on May 5th and last two weeks; calls for candidacies were made on March 18. Nine representatives and five alternates will serve out six-month terms and address issues concerning the nearly quarter-million-strong playerbase.

"The voice of the player has always been an integral and driving force in the maturation of EVE Online Isk, so the institution of the Council of Stellar Management is natural at this point," said Pétur Oskarsson, CCP Researcher and project lead for the Council of Stellar Management. "The CSM will empower players with a formal communications channel to directly impact the development of their society as it grows more and more advanced."

The decision to create the body was made late last year following a flurry of complaints about alleged employee biases toward one in-game faction dominant at the time.