Games addict dies after marathon

A 17-year-old boy died after a marathon game-playing session at the Hong Kong's cybercafe where he worked, the South China Morning Post reported.

Colleagues saw him lying on the floor at around 9.30am, but thought he had fallen asleep after playing Diablo ll since around 3am. Only when they tried to wake him did they realise he was unconscious. He was declared dead on arrival at hospital.

The boy was said to work 12 hours a day and play online games for 10 hours, sleeping only for two. The cause of death was unknown, but an organisation representing local cybercafe owners immediately called for more attention to be paid to games addicts.

The chairman Isaac Chan Chi-Kit said employees would be told to advise players to take a break after two hours. Some were said to play for 24 hours or more at a time.

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Report from Computex