Society

Parents invited to check on game-addicted children

(Xinhua)
Updated: 2010-02-05 23:06

BEIJING: Young Chinese addicted to online games may find themselves cut off from the games' service by operators acting on parents' tip-offs.

Six top Chinese online game operators, including Tencent and Shanda, initiated a project here Friday to enable the guardians of online-game-addicted adolescents to tattle on their children.

If a guardian telephones one of the companies, the game operators will suspend service to the minor.

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The voluntary move has won the support from the Ministry of Culture (MOC).

Li Xiong, director of the Internet culture department with the ministry, said on Friday the move underscores the online game operators' discipline and commitment to social responsibility.

Li expects more companies to join in the project in the future.

The number of online game players in China surged 33 percent to 66 million over the past year, according to a Chinese gaming industry report released January 20 at the industry's annual conference.

According to a separate report by the MOC released two days before the conference, almost one in six of the online game players are minors.