Professor says WoW can be used as an energy-saving tool

A Stanford Professor thinks World of Warcraft could be used as a great energy-saving tool.

Byron Reeves says that by uploading a Smart Meter system into the MMO, it could inform players if they've left a light on or the stove running.

Speaking on Green Gaming, the prof explained his idea:

"So imagine that you're in your home, you're signed into [the] game… and you make a decision in the game to turn off the lights in an unused bedroom [in real life]. As soon as you do that, the Smart Meter recognizes that, sends the information through the network to your computer and your house [in the game] turns a shade of green that it wasn't before. And if I'm using less electricity, my team might do well. I get gold pieces and points… whatever the game designers think is fun. You get feedback in an entertainment game about what you're doing in the real world."

Having Smart Meters as part of gameplay, he reckons, is a way to get gamers to think on an environmental level while playing their MMOs.

Thanks Kotaku.