Internet addicts stage jail-break from rehab centre

The 14 addicts, aged between 15 and 22, tied their instructor to his bed before making a bid for freedom from the treatment centre in Huai'an, in the eastern Jiangsu province, according to reports in China's state media.

All were swiftly re-captured and returned to the facility, however, after the escapees, dressed in distinctive camouflage shirts, failed to pay their fare to a taxi driver whom they had hailed to take them home last Wednesday night.

Internet addiction clinics have become increasingly popular with parents in China, where an estimated 24 million adolescents are addicted to the internet, according to data released by the China Youth Association for Network Development this year.

The clinics use harsh methods to cure inmates of their addiction, which sees some Chinese youths spending entire days in front of their screens, engaged in social networking and playing "massive multiplayer games" (MMGs) like Civilization and Happy Farms.

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