There are no statistics on online gaming addicts, no prescribed treatments, and no rehab facilities here in the U.S.

Yet, addictions are a real problem, say those who worry about people — often young men — who become so absorbed by role-playing games like "EverQuest" or "World of Warcraft" that the real world falls away.

Liz Woolley started On-Line Gamers Anonymous http://www.olganonboard.org after her son Shawn committed suicide in front of his computer in 2001. Shawn, 21, had been playing "EverQuest" for a year and a half, to the point that he stopped talking to his family and friends.

"He didn't want to get a job. He didn't want to go back to school," says Woolley, a computer systems analyst in Harrisburg, Pa.

She took her son to a therapist, who said there was nothing wrong with his gaming — that it wasn't like being addicted to drugs or alcohol.

Yet, even as her site's message boards have filled up with stories about compulsive gamers losing their jobs, their homes or their marriages, gaming still isn't seen as a real addiction, Woolley says. What's more, parents of ever younger children treat games as "glorified baby sitters," she says, raising kids who grow up not knowing how to interact with real people. Schools may teach against drug and alcohol abuse, but "they need to talk about excessive gaming, too."

Sony Online Entertainment, the maker of "EverQuest," says most of its hundreds of thousands of subscribers play in moderation.

"As with any form of entertainment, it is the responsibility of each individual player to monitor his or her own playing habits," the company said in a statement. "It is not our place to monitor or limit how individuals spend their free time."

asap talked to psychologists about the issue, why these games can be so compelling and whether playing them for hours on end qualifies as a true addiction.

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WHAT IS AN ADDICTION?

Being addicted isn't a matter of how much time is spent online — just as being an alcoholic isn't about how much one consumes, says Kimberly Young, director of the Center for Internet Addiction Recovery in Bradford, Pa.

"It's not that quantitative. You look at a set of behaviors," she says. "When you look at compulsions, you're looking generally at people who lose control. ... They have problems because of their own use, and they continue to use it despite these problems."

In other words, if someone spends 18 hours a day gaming and flunks out of school, it's not just a hobby anymore, she says. In that sense, the consequences are the same as any other type of addiction.

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IS IT THE GAME?

That said, unlike alcohol, which is known to be addictive for some people, it's not clear that video games themselves are the problem, says Maressa Hecht Orzack, director of computer addiction services at McLean Hospital in Belmont, Mass., and a professor at Harvard Medical School.

Instead, the problems are often mood disorders, depression or anxiety — and it's those ailments that need to be treated, she says.

The profile of a compulsive user — especially young men — is someone who may be socially inept but very bright, she says. "In some cases they're bored because they don't want to concentrate in school, and other times it's something going on in their families or themselves."

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WHY THESE GAMES?

While there aren't any hard statistics, the problem appears to be growing as quest-driven games become ever more sophisticated and easier to play — and their players get younger, says Young.

"You're talking about games that take hours once you get involved with them," she says. Players adopt online personas that are more compelling than their real lives, and "the longer you play, the more powerful the character becomes, the more recognition from the other characters."

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WHAT CAN BE DONE?

Residential treatment facilities for computer addictions have opened in Europe and Asia, though there are none in the United States. Rather, severe addicts can seek out therapists who specialize in computer disorders or seek help at rehab centers that treat compulsive behaviors generally, Young says.

As for the treatment itself, "it takes a fair amount of time. You don't just stop doing this," Orzack says.

Taking the game away from an addict tends to backfire, she adds. "They have become aware of what they're doing."

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Stephanie Hoo is asap's business writer, based in New York.

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