FarmVille, that ubiquitous Facebook game with more than 60 million online players tending virtual livestock and neon colored vegetable gardens,  has a  real life counterpart in the UK called MyFarm.   Led by the U.K.’s National Trust, MyFarm gives up to 10,000 online players – virtual farmers – the opportunity to run by consensus a real 2500 acre organic farm in Cambridgeshire, U.K..

About 3000 online participants are currently “playing,” voting on everything from types of crops to grow, to  livestock needs, facilities investments, and machinery choices.  The only restrictions are the specific choices given for each decision, so “farmers” can’t replant feed crops with something illegal.   The whole point of the project is to “educate participants about the basics of farm life–which will hopefully make for better choices among its farm-ignorant users–courtesy of videos, discussions, and blog posts from on-site farmers. ”

As one MyFarm associate says, “…we’ll see if MyFarm can hold onto its user base and increase awareness about how agriculture actually works–or if participants will get bored and go back to their virtual, uncomplicated farms.”

Lots of possibilities and lots of questions raised in this interesting educational experiment, but it’s probably best not to count those chickens before they hatch!