A 30 year-old man has died in the south China province of Guangzhou after apparently playing an online game continuously for three days.

Reports in Beijing News said that the man suddenly collapsed and was rushed to hospital. Doctors were unable to revive him.

"Police have ruled out the possibility of suicide," the newspaper said, adding that "exhaustion" was the most likely cause of death.

The name of the internet café has not been released, nor the game that the Guangzhou resident was playing.

The 30 year-old is not the first to die after prolonged internet use. Earlier this year Xu Yan, a local teacher from Jinzhou in Liaoning province, collapsed after spending almost 15 days playing online games.

The Chinese government is taking an increasingly tough line on 'internet addiction', including boot camps to get people to use the internet less and the use of electrotherapy.