An overweight 26 year-old man from north-eastern China has died after a ceaseless gaming session over the Lunar New Year holiday.

Chinese state media reported that Xu Yan, a local teacher from Jinzhou, in Liaoning province, collapsed on Saturday after spending almost 15 days playing online games.

According to his parents, Xu found the holiday boring as all the markets and other businesses were closed, leaving only the TV and computer as entertainment.

As vnunet.com reported last week, the Chinese government is very worried about the apparent problems with internet addiction among teenagers and young adults in the country.

Surveys released by state media suggest that 2.6 million, almost 14 per cent, of teenage internet users are classed as addicts.

The authorities have been introducing sweeping measures to help combat the problem.

These include banning teenagers from cyber-cafés, limiting online gaming sessions, and even boot camp-style military training, psychological counselling and electrocution.