A schoolboy collapsed and went into convulsions after playing a new version of the World of Warcraft computer game for 24 hours straight.

The 15-year-old boy and his friends were playing Wrath of the Lich King when he suffered what appeared to be an epileptic seizure, it was reported today.

“They played all day and all night. Maybe they got a few hours of sleep. They ate a little food and breakfast at their computers,” the boy’s father told the Kvällsposten newspaper in Sweden.

Doctors told the father that his son’s bodily systems had been disrupted by a combination of sleep deprivation, lack of food, and the prolonged period of concentration playing the game.

The teenager and six friends are reported to have gathered at his home in Laholm, western Sweden, on Saturday to play the new version of the game which went on sale on Thursday. He collapsed at around 2pm yesterday.

The boy is expected to make a full recovery but his father said he plans on limiting the amount of time his son is allowed to play computer games.

His father also warned other patents about the dangers of their sons’ extended game playing. “They also think the boys need to reduce the amount of time they play and will themselves be more vigilant,” he said.

There has been increasing concern in Britain about the risks of addiction to the game. More than 2,000 people queued for up to 18 hours outside a central London store on Wednesday for a special midnight opening to buy an “expansion pack” for the game.

Dr Richard Graham, a child psychiatrist at the Tavistock Centre, told the BBC that the popularity of the game has led to concerns over the extent to which youngsters are developing unhealthy addictions.

“Some of my clients will discuss playing games for 14 to 16 hours a day at times without breaks and for those the consequences are potentially very severe,” he said.

“The problem with World of Warcraft is the degree it can impact and create a socially withdrawn figure who may be connecting with people in the game and is largely dropping out of education, social opportunities.”

Some of the children referred to him even failed to attend appointments because they were playing the game, he told the BBC.

“One young man described vividly to me a sense that having achieved very high success in the game, when he switched off he felt downgraded.” he said. “Some of my clients will discuss playing for 14 or 16 hours a day without breaks and for those the consequences are very severe.”

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