CHINA STANCE WITH ONLINE GAMERS!

China wrestles with online gamers.
By Richard Taylor Click editor

China is presenting a brave new image to the Western worldThe public face of modern, metropolitan China is all gleaming towers and conspicuous consumption. But behind the facade of the new China lies a less glamorous underbelly, a world inhabited largely by the next generation. Internet cafes do not often look up to much but, for the country's 30 million online gamers, they offer a means of escape to worlds far, far beyond.

The hugely popular World of Warcraft is typical of role-playing fantasy games. Hundreds of players can be pitted against each other at any one time, using their in-game characters to battle it out for status and riches in this virtual universe. However, the real fortunes are made elsewhere, by the games providers themselves. Last year alone, Chinese players paid out $500m (£280m) in subscriptions for this part-time escapism.

The government wants a piece of the action too, recently announcing it will invest almost $2bn (£1.14bn) developing the industry. Gaming analyst Jim Sun says: "They try to encourage the local games companies to improve their in-house game development capability, so in future they can export more and import less." But there is a social price to be paid. Players often spend hour upon hour in front of PC monitors, not even taking a breather for life's most basic necessities.

Some even end up at Beijing's internet addiction centre. It opened its doors last year to players who are prepared to slay their own demons and take up healthier living. To the Chinese authorities, the mere existence of the centre is symptomatic of the dangers the internet can present. So the same government actively encouraging home-grown gaming is, somewhat schizophrenically, drawing the conclusion that the online gamers themselves should be regulated.

No time to eat, too busy gamingSince the end of last year they have taken aim at the hardcore players, issuing directives to make sure the games have technical blocks hindering excessive game play. Under the new system, your online character becomes less and less effective. After three hours, the number of in-game "experience points" for, say, killing an opponent are reduced by half. After five hours you do not get any at all. It is called the fatigue system. One government official told Click the new directive has won the support of both players and parents.

Kou Xiao Wei, from the Chinese Internet Agency, said: "This regulation strikes a good balance between the interests of the games developers on the one hand, and the need to foster a healthy game-playing environment on the other. "I think in the long run people will come to realise the importance of this new directive."

BBC NEWS REPORT.