Students make up the biggest group of online game players in China, followed by IT and media industry workers, according to a survey released on Monday, Beijing Business Today reported.

The survey, jointly conducted by 17173.com, a Chinese online game website, and iReseach Consulting Group, said almost 60 percent of gamers were in their 20s and 95 percent were below 35 years old.

High school graduates accounted for 35 percent of Chinese gamers, the report said. One-third of the respondents have a college education and 23 percent a university diploma. Only few players received master's degree or PhD, said the report.

Forty-five percent of the gamers were female, who favored to join in the games with the identification of opposite sex, it said.

The online players usually spent three to six hours daily on the games, mostly from 8pm to 12am. Thirty-seven percent of gamers play on their own computers.

The survey also revealed that 21 percent of players earned between 1,000 yuan (US$135) and 1,500 yuan, and 24 percent of the respondents have a monthly income of more than 3,000 yuan.

The average cost of online games varied from 80 yuan to 200 yuan per month, it said.

(Shanghai Daily, December 7, 2007)