Did you know that China has been introducing game-loving children to the wacky world of electric shock therapy? That's right -- parents have been willingly signing their children up for a course of jolts in order to stop them playing online videogames and surfing the 'net. Fortunately, the news today is that Chinese officials have officialy ordered it to stop ... but why was it happening in the first place?

"More than 3,000 young people were tricked or forced into the four-month long course," reports China Daily. "To enroll their children, parents or guardians had to sign a contract acknowledging that they would be given electric shocks of up to 200 milliamperes. The treatment cost 6,000 yuan ($878) per monthv...

"Shocks were given if patients broke any of the center’s 86 rules, which included prohibitions on eating chocolate, locking the bathroom door, taking pills before a meal, and sitting in Dr. Yang's chair without permission. Details of the treatment first became public when former patients wrote about their experiences online."

In an almost cult-like move, the children were considered "reborn" when they finally admitted their addiction.

That is just ... wow. Rarely am I at a loss for words, but that's absolutely screwed up. I'm glad it's been stopped, but that kind of thing really, really shouldn't be happening these days. Frankly, any parent willing to sign their kid up to something so cruel should be had up on charges of child abuse.