Virtual geography of virtual population

Abstract

The paper focuses on the perspectives of the practical usage of the Russian Federation Virtual Population project data. The project represents a new database relative to Vkontakte social network. The project website is a customable resource designed to study Vkontakte structure. Data set relative to the network structure can be found on the website, as well as an interactive map builder that summarizes the data in a map and provides different geographical, temporal and demographical filters.The website disposes a large data set that allows studying Vkontakte audience’s profile taking into account such parameters as sex, age, education and migratory behaviour. The website boasts its body of data on the users’ virtual friendship that seems to be the first large-scale research on whether virtual friendship relations are territorially dependent. The date opens a prospect that a new way will develop in studying virtual environment.