Bi Yalin, 22, stares at the screen of her mobile phone and stabs furiously at it with her fingers. She is completely engrossed in an online, multiplayer battle game.

The game also encourages cooperation among teammates, she says.

Bi also played the game with her friends in China and that encouraged them to communicate more.

"It feels awesome to defeat others in the game because it's something that needs wisdom and tactics. You need to comprehend the overall situation."

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"It's a good way to kill time, especially when it's hot and I only want to stay in an air-conditioned room," says Luo.

Zhao Yun, 21, was curious about the game because many of her classmates were hooked to it.

Entertainment trend

A classmate once joked that Zhao was behind the times by not playing it, so she downloaded the game on impulse. She was quickly drawn to the game and had to exercise significant self-control to spend less time on it.

Her on-screen incarnation is Donghuang Taiyi, an ancient Chinese god clad in traditional costume and portrayed as a handsome man sporting the lower body of a dragon.

"I used to cling to my boyfriend quite a lot, but I started to enjoy the game, spending less time with my boyfriend. He noticed that and volunteered to join me online."

Two characters in the game cost money - the one based on Ying Zheng, or Qin Shihuang, the first emperor who unified China in 221 BC; and Wu Zetian (624-705), the only female ruler of the country.

"In Chinese culture, such petty or trivial forms of entertainment may be seen to affect the pursuit of more important activities and objectives," he says.