Koreans battle killer computer games

RESEARCHERS in Korea have been trying to establish why computer games are so lethal in that country.

It is rare, in other countries, for people to be so addicted to computer games that they play until they drop dead, but in Korea it is fast becoming common.

According to the National Institute of Scientific Investigation, the main cause of death during computer games is pulmonary thrombo-embolism, which is what you suffer if you spend too long sitting down without movement.

"The games we played in the 1980s were winnable once you found out the programmed rules of the game, but when playing network games you have to compete with millions of players all around the world. You may be one of the top ranking players one moment but drop way down the next second. Because of the massive competition, people can't stop playing," the report said.

Dr Song Hyeong-gon of Samsung Seoul Hospital's Emergency Department said that most of the deaths are caused by people playing internet games without getting any sleep who are stressed by the obsession with winning the game.

He said they are using a large amount of energy. In such a physically exhausted condition, exposure to bright colors or stimulating images on the screen is likely to irritate the cerebral cortex and can cause sudden death.

It still does not explain why Korea suffers from this problem and other nations do not.

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