"There is no trend for Internet addiction as far as social or economic status, or geography, are concerned. So long as they can get access to a computer, there will be addiction," Tao said.

INTERNET VIOLENCE

At the end of 2006, China had 137 million Internet users, an increase of 23.4 percent from the previous year.

Of users under 18, an estimated 13 percent -- or 2.3 million -- are Internet addicts, according to a 2006 study by the China National Children's Center.

Internet addiction rates posted in Western studies vary wildly, with little consensus as to what constitutes addiction and whether the concept exists.

A Stanford University of Medicine report in 2006 found one in eight adults find it hard to be away from the Internet for several days, but the report was inconclusive as to whether excessive use could be defined as an addiction.

China's health authorities, however, have few illusions about placing Internet addiction on a par with alcoholism, drug-taking and gambling.

"The effects are the same," Tao said. "Some addicts drop out of school, some mug people for money, steal and sell their families' things to keep playing games. Some end up killing themselves because they feel life has no point."

The social consequences of addiction had caught the government off guard -- as had the Internet's explosive growth.

"Suddenly, from a handful of users in 1997, China now has over 130 million. People can get online in the most remote places. The legal system did not have time to develop," Tao said.

Addiction to the Internet is blamed for most juvenile crime in China, a number of suicides, and deaths from exhaustion by players unable to tear themselves away from marathon game sessions.

In 2005, a Shanghai court handed a life sentence to an online game player who stabbed a competitor to death for stealing his cyber-sword -- a virtual prize earned during game-play.

PARENTAL PRESSURE

The rising tide of Internet-addicted youth has prompted the government to ban new Internet cafes in 2007, which are seen in China as breeding grounds for social delinquency.

Delegates at the National People's Congress, China's annual session of parliament, have proposed stricter criminal punishments for Internet cafe operators who admit minors, and have flagged restrictions on violent games.

"Even President Hu Jintao talked of developing a scientific and civilized Internet environment recently," Tao said.

But China's Internet addiction is not merely a product of an imperfect regulatory system, Xu Leiting said.

"The main cause of Internet addiction is that parents' expectations for their children are too high," said Xu.

With education perceived by many parents as the only means of advancement in an ultra-competitive society of 1.3 billion people, some lock their children up to study and ask teachers to assign them extra homework.

The pressure can be too much for some children, Xu said, especially if they fail.

"Then they escape to the virtual world to seek achievements, importance and satisfaction, or a sense of belonging."

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