Microsoft Research during the month of June 2006 anonymously tracked all messenger activity. After analysing the data, it is apparently clear that we are all much more connected than one could possible imagine!

Actually, we’re about as connected as we thought previously. It is however nice to have it confirmed. Six degrees of separation is about spot on, with Microsoft’s bespectacled brain heavy types discovering from the 45 terabytes of information they skimmed that we, are on average, 6.6 steps from any other messenger user.

It is likely we are, if anything, more connected than this, as the study only takes into account MSN users and therefore omits other IM clients. The Mashable article covering this has a link through to the actual report should you feel like thoroughly enveloping yourself in statistics lending weight to the concept of a global village.