China's Health Ministry has banned electric shock therapy as a treatment for Internet addiction citing lack of scientific evidence on its efficacy.

The notice, posted on the ministry website read, "Electroshock therapy for Internet addiction... has no foundation in clinical research or evidence and therefore is not appropriate for clinical application."

This announcement follows recent media reports in the China Youth Daily newspaper about psychiatrist Yang Yongxin, who runs Linyi Mental Health Hospital in eastern Shandong province which used the treatment as part of a four-month program to treat nearly 3,000 youths to rid them of their internet addiction.

For over a year the Chinese government has led a campaign against Internet addiction, saying young people's excessive time in Internet cafes, known as Web bars in Chinese, is hurting their studies and damaging family life.

China aside from being the world's most populous country also has the world's largest Internet population, with almost 300 million users at the end of last year, according to the China Internet Network Information Center.

According to an estimate by China's National People's Congress about 10 % of the country's under-18 users are addicted to the Internet, although it is not recognized as a clinical condition. There are over 200 organizations offering treatment for Internet disorders in China.

Being online more than six hours a day, playing games and looking at pornography rather than working or studying and getting angry when unable to get online are all characterized as symptoms of Internet addiction by Chinese psychologists.

The hospital could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Spokesman Yang Shuyun told the Beijing News newspaper after seeing the ministry's comments they had stopped administering the shock therapy.

The China Youth Daily said doctor Yang Yongxin, also known as "Uncle Yang," runs a boot camp called the Internet Addiction Treatment Center at Linyi Mental Hospital. Shuyun said it was only part of the overall program to treat patients wherein patients are charged 5,500 yuan ($805) a month which also included medicine and psychological counseling.

Most of the young patients were sent to the hospital by force and were strictly trained in military ways and accompanied by their parents. The China Youth Daily added that the young patients are prohibited from outside contact. Neither Yang nor his six colleagues at the camp were qualified psychotherapists, it said.