Next time you set off on an epic gaming marathon, stop and think for a minute; a 26-year-old Chinese man who played video games non-stop for 7 days has just died from his marathon online session.

Although he weighed more than 149Kg (330lbs) the parents of the dead man said he was involved in a marathon 7-day online gaming session over the Chinese New Year and that was what killed him.

Boredom over the Lunar New Year holiday is being blamed by the China Daily for gamers engaging in such long periods of gaming.

"There are only two options. TV or computer", Xi Yan, a local teacher, told the newspaper. "What else can I do in the holiday as all markets, KTV and cafeterias are shut down?"