Parents sue game firm in China after son's suicide (Reuters)

BEIJING (Reuters) - The parents of a 13-year-old boy whokilled himself after playing a computer game for 36 hours aresuing the game's licensed Chinese distributor for 100,000 yuan($12,500), a Chinese newspaper reported on Thursday.

In 2004, Zhang Xiaoyi, from the northern Chinese city ofTianjin, jumped out of a window of his family's 24th floorapartment after playing Warcraft at an internet cafe.

His parents said in a legal writ that China Cyber Port Co.Ltd.'s failure to clearly warn of the inherent "dangers" ofWarcraft -- a game produced by American company BlizzardEntertainment -- was responsible for their son's death, theBeijing Times reported.

"In America, Warcraft has a 'T' rating, where it's onlysuitable for children over 13... but we weren't aware," thepaper quoted the parents as saying.

The parents said that China Cyber Port clearly knew thatthe "violent" and "bloody" content of Warcraft was unsuitablefor minors.

They should have warned people about the risks of addictionand "taken measures to prevent players' from over-indulgingthemselves," they said.

Apart from seeking damages, the parents demanded thatpackaging and materials for all Warcraft games distributed inChina refer to the game's "level of violence" and have clear,written health warnings.

"This is a public interest case," said Zhang Chunliang, anonline addiction activist, in support of the parents.

"We are appealing to the country to build a healthy andcomplete game regulation system."

Computer and online gaming has exploded in China in recentyears, with an estimated 13.8 million people taking part.

Amid growing concern that more and more young people arebecoming hooked, China has issued a raft of regulations aimedat curbing excessive game playing at internet cafes and heavilyfining owners that admit minors.

($1=8.003 Yuan)

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