A Chinese teenager cut off his own hand in an extreme attempt to cure his internet addition. The 19-year-old from Nantong in the Jiangsu province was rushed to hospital after using a kitchen knife to amputate his left hand. Local broadcaster Jianngu TV reported that the teenager had chopped his arm off while sitting on a public bench. The teenager, known only as "Little Wang", had previously smuggled a kitchen knife from his home and made his way out of the house. He cut his left arm at the wrist and left the hand on the ground while he called a taxi to take him to a nearby hospital. The surgeons at the local university hospital were able to reattach the hand which was recovered by police. However, they were not able to guarantee that he would regain full mobility. China currently has about 24 million "web junkies" according to official figures and a number of military-style bootcamps springing up to help sufferers deal with the addiction. Young people with an internet addiction may start by skipping lessons at school with some so severely addicted hardly leave their bedrooms and all their interaction takes place online. Tao Ran, an army psychologist who runs a well-known Beijing rehab center for internet addicts, estimated around 14% of China's young people were addicted.