A Japanese woman could face a prison sentence after killing off her virtual husband in a computer game.

The 43-year-old became so angry about a sudden "divorce" from her online husband in the interactive Maple Story game that she logged on with his password and deleted his digital persona.

She has been arrested on suspicion of illegally accessing a computer and manipulating electronic data.

The woman used the man's username and password to log in to the game and carry out the virtual murder in May, a police official in the northern city of Sapporo said.

"I was suddenly divorced - without a word of warning. That made me so angry," the official quoted her as saying.

The woman, a piano teacher, had not plotted any revenge in the real world, he said.

She has not yet been formally charged, but could face up to five years in prison or a fine of more than £3,000 if eventually convicted.

Maple Story players create and manipulate digital images called avatars - which represent themselves - while engaging in relationships and social activities and fighting monsters.

The woman was arrested on Wednesday and taken 620 miles (1,000km) from her home in southern Miyazaki to be detained in Sapporo, where the man lives, the official said.

Bad online behaviour is usually dealt with within the rules set up by online worlds, which can ban miscreants or confiscate their virtual possessions.

However, virtual crimes can also have consequences in reality.

In August, a woman in Delaware was charged with plotting the real-life abduction of a boyfriend she met through the virtual reality website Second Life.

A 16-year-old boy in Tokyo was charged with stealing the ID and password of a fellow player in order to swindle virtual currency in an online game.