The Chinese government has stopped a controversial practice of electrically shocking teens to stop them from obsessive Internet use, according to reports.

Shock therapy was being used by a hospital in the country's Shandong Province as a way to treat Internet addiction, but the Ministry of Health ordered the facility to stop the practice.

The therapy had been used on about 3,000 young Chinese people, according to the China Youth Daily.

Internet addicts were described in Chinese media reports as those who were online more than six hours a day, played games and looked at pornography sites instead of working or studying, and got angry when they cuold not go online.

The Ministry of Health said on its Web site that there was no indication that electric shock treatment had any impact on problem Internet users, and its safety was in question.

The revelation that patients at the hospital were being treated with electric shock therapy came to light when former patients complained about their experiences in online forums.