Online romance heartbreak prompts hanging -Xinhua

BEIJING, Jan 5 (Reuters) A 17-year-old Chinese boy hanged himself after a catastrophic meeting with his online sweetheart, Xinhua news agency said today.

The teenager became addicted to QQ, the most popular online chatroom in China, and stayed in the Internet cafe for days on end, the agency said, quoting the boy's father.

He fell for a girl called ''Qunjiaofeiyang'' (Flying Skirt) on the net, who described herself as a beautiful 19-year-old.

After weeks spent chatting with her online, he arranged a date on Dec. 26 in Mudanjiang, 73 miles away from his home town.

''To his intense disappointment, his dream girl turned out to be a plain lady who was more than 10 years older than him,'' Xinhua said.

''His parents tried to comfort and console him but, his hopes crushed, he went out to a nearby hill and hanged himself on December 30.'' Police had excluded the possibility of homicide, Xinhua said.

REUTERS AKJ KN1417