YOUNG South Koreans will be banned from playing online video games later than midnight after lawmakers passed a new curfew law.

Yonhap news agency reported the new law - which bans anyone under 16 from playing online into the early hours - was passed by lawmakers worried about growing levels of addiction to gaming among youngsters.

Gaming companies fiercely contested the legislation but the Youth Protection bill passed late Friday.

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The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family said the law was a means to combat teenagers' gaming addiction following a series of tragic incidents.

In May 2010, a South Korean couple were jailed for negligent homicide after they left their baby daughter to starve to death while they raised a "virtual" child on the internet.

In March of the same year, a 32-year-old man died after reportedly playing for five days with few breaks.

Following the incidents, the government, which estimates that the highly wired nation has about two million web addicts, announced a campaign to combat the affliction.