Nine Days and Nights

A 14-year-old Romanian boy has suffered a breakdown after reportedly playing a computer game for nine days and nights in a row.

Michel Savin collapsed in an internet cafe and was taken to hospital where doctors said he was physically and mentally exhausted.

His mother said he had become so addicted to playing Counter Strike that he had lost weight, missed classes and stopped cleaning.

Magda Savin, from Iasi, says she intends to ask the authorities to ban youngsters from internet cafes after 10pm.

Mrs. Savin tells the National newspaper, "My son spends his nights and days in front of the computer playing this game. He missed hundreds of classes, he lies, steals things from the house to sell them and get money for the internet. He didn't wash for days and lost about 18 lbs."

______________

...