A student at Tongji University died on Sunday after playing computer games for five consecutive hours in a dorm room.

The student, surnamed Zhao, died from a brain hemorrhage and was already in a coma when he was sent to Xinhua Hospital on Sunday afternoon, doctors said.

"We don't know what on earth caused Zhao's sudden hemorrhage, nor do we know what happened a few days before he was sent to the hospital," said Meng Huijuan, spokeswomen at Xinhua Hospital.

Zhao, a sophomore student at Tongji's civil engineering department, began to play computer games as soon as he got up around 9am on Sunday morning. He even skipped lunch to devote himself to the battle.

About 2pm, the game addict fainted and fell to the floor. Scared dorm mates immediately rushed him to the school hospital, who transferred the patient to Xinhua Hospital nearby, Zhao's friends said.

Zhao was diagnosed with a brain vessel tumor and high blood pressure at the hospital. Doctors said a tumor rupture was the most probable cause for the brain hemorrhage.

"A brain hemorrhage can be caused by various reasons. But we can confirm that the sudden death had nothing to do with the patient's computer playing," Meng said.

Born into a single-parent family in Henan Province, Zhao was one of the poorest students in his class. His mother and three other relatives, hurried to Shanghai after learning about the accident.

Zhao was already dead when his mother arrived in the city Monday morning, university officials said.

"His mother fainted after hearing about her son's death," said a school official surnamed Liu, who is also manager at the university's hotel where Zhao's relatives stayed.

Wu Weimin, director at Tongji's news center, said that Zhao's death was an accident.

"Zhao is believed to have had the hidden disease for a long time. Unfortunately, the mishap happened during the busy exam season and particularly after spending time on the computer," Wu said.

Though it is not the direct cause of Zhao's death, addiction to computer games is common among university students, especially males.

"It's normal for us to play computer games for several hours without rest. Serious gamers can battle around the clock for three or four days," said Xu Shiwei, a university student.

(Shanghai Daily June 29, 2004)