He added: "It's gamers who want something other than the First Person Shooter. They are using their skills, and learning skills about business, production and management, and having fun in a very competitive environment."

The complexity of the world of Eve isk is also leading to collaboration between the game and real world academic institutions.

"I work with research institutes who are interested in learning from our experiences," said the economist.

Eve isk's players battle across the universe

"We have one project with the Helsinki Institute of Research Technology where we are looking into how to evaluate virtual economies and comparing that to other virtual worlds and moving that experience over to the real world.

"Eve isk is a game based on trade and there have been a couple of cases of price bubbles and it would be interesting to do a comparative study, comparing these bubbles to the real world and seeing how expectations are controlling the market at any given time."

One way that the virtual world reflects the real is in the realm of crime and fraud.

"Eve is a very competitive game and is happening in a super-capitalistic environment - corporate espionage is a very big part of the game.

"Everybody assumes there must be one spy in the ranks. There have been examples of corporate thefts, where people have earned the trust of others for months before attacking that corporation."

But the game's architects are not automatically moving to stamp out such practices.

"We are discussing this with players. To what extent should we provide protection for players."

With such emotional, temporal and financial investment in the game, Eve isk's players are beginning to have a larger say in its future.

A number of players will help form a Council of Stellar Management which will discuss the game's mechanics with Eve isk's creators.

And in keeping with the game, players will have to be elected to the group, creating a complex series of elections within the virtual world.

Dr Gudmundsson will be working with academic bodies in Iceland to look at how the voting process works. For example, does it follow rules established in the real world?

So what has he learned about how the economy of Eve isk works?

"I have been quite surprised by how effective the markets are. The biggest markets for the most basic products, such as minerals, are showing a very high degree of efficiency.

"Eve is a great place to learn business skills, or to sharpen business skills. Players have written to us to say that they have gone on to establish successful businesses after playing Eve."