They probably are.
I've got all sorts of things I want to say, but they're political and therefore not for this thread; instead I'll just say that one of the absolute best friends I've ever met was made through gaming. He was my guildleader in EverQuest, and to this day, 17 years later, we remain in constant touch, even with me back in Michigan and him in Hong Kong. Never have met face-to-face, though. Just lots of ICQ conversations about our respective plans to conquer the world.