The NPD Group just released a study which found that there has been a significant increase in the total number of female gamers over the last year – up as much as 28%. While the report does break things down in detail, it fails to give any hard numbers that might be of real help to many of the male gamers who spend the majority of their life online. Specifically of concern, but conspicuously omitted – what are the real odds that the party’s scantily-clad Elven warrior-priestess you’ve been chatting online with for weeks isn’t secretly wielding a sword? Or the possibility that the flirty new shooter calling herself “ImH0t4W11″ in your Conduit clan doesn’t carry an extra piece in her belt?

Unfortunately, science may never be able to give us those kind of specifics. However, the report was able to offer this ray of hope for those so concerned:

“These types of players ["extreme" female gamers] account for just four per cent of total gamers, says the report, however their playing habits have become a little less extreme. While they still spend an average of 39 hours a week playing games, that average is down seven hours from 2008.”

GamesIndustry.biz has a few more specifics of interest from the very dense report.