6.6 Degrees of Separation

We have all heard of the Six degrees of separation to explain how everyone in the world is connected to everyone else but is there any proof? Am I connected actually get to, for example a

A bored research team at Microsoft decided to find out by analysing the Windows Live Messenger traffic for a single month. Sure this doesn't take into account all cultures and walks of life but its a good start and their results point at 6.6 degrees of separation.