People who spend more than 40 hours online each week will be considered Internet addicts under China's new treatment standards for an affliction that's estimated to be affecting the lives of millions of the country's teenagers.

The draft definition of online addiction was based on research into the standards used by foreign countries and has also been influenced by China's experience with the problem.

A panel of experts authorized by the Ministry of Health is working on guidelines designed to treat people who are addicted to online games, the biggest group of Internet addicts.

The standards are expected to be released by the end of this year.

China now has an estimated 107 million juvenile Internet users, and 13 million of them are considered addicts.