A Chinese man dropped dead after playing Internet games for three consecutive days, state media said yesterday as China seeks to wean Internet addicts offline. The man from the southern boomtown of Guangzhou, aged about 30, died on Saturday after being rushed to the hospital from the Internet cafe, local authorities were quoted by the Beijing News as saying. ?Police have ruled out the possibility of suicide? the newspaper said, adding that exhaustion was the most likely cause of death. It did not say what game he was playing.

China, worried about the spread of pornography and politically incorrect content, has banned the opening of new cybercafes this year and issued orders limiting the time Internet users can spend playing online.

In April, President Hu Jintao launched a campaign to rid the Internet of ?unhealthy? content and make it a platform for Communist Party doctrine.