A small Bradford company has found itself caught up in a global gaming phenomenon that has led to suicides, fatal exhaustion and legal wrangles.

The cult computer game The Legend of Mir 3 is causing social mayhem in China where a staggering 40 million people regularly go online to battle for 'virtual' prizes.

The game has earned a place in the Guiness Book of Records after 750,000 players took part in the largest-ever simultaneous online game.

But experts are now questioning the psychological repercussions of the role-playing game (RPG) which can hijack players' lives and has left devotees dead.

One player, 41-year-old Qiu Chengwei, from Shanghai, was found guilty last month of fatally stabbing his friend Zhu Caoyuan who had rep-ortedly sold Mr Chengwei's 'virtual' dragon sword for £480.

The Chinese case has prompted Bradford company Quality Games Online Ltd, which holds the licence to distribute the English language version of the game in Europe, to step up its policing of the 21,000 players it has so far signed up.

Antony Burgess, chief executive of Quality Games Online, based at the Bus-iness and Innovation Centre at Angel Way, Listerhills, said the company had in-creased its checks on players.

"It's to prevent sad events like this that we monitor the game 24/7 and take action if any game items are advertised for sale on the internet," he said.

"We have several methods of support whereby players can contact us if a situation in-game arises that needs assistance from a trained staff member.

"Gamesmasters monitor in-game chat and player actions, acting primarily as community-game police. We have no problems with players enjoying the game and immersing themselves in the world of Mir, but we need to promote a friendly and safe playing environment."

However, Mr Burgess admitted that policing the system had its difficulties, as did monitoring the auction sites where virtual weapons can be sold for hundreds of pounds. The firm launched the English language version of the game in December and has seen thousands of players sign up to the £8 a month game.

In the game, players devise a character which is built up over months and years.

Players fight to save the lands of Mir from demonic forces in an infinite series of quests and challenges, each with its own storyline and virtual reward. In order to progress in the game, individuals have to team up with as many as 15 people to defeat a particular adversary and gain their weapon.

Mr Burgess said: "In the Far East people consider it to be work rather than play.

"In China, Qiu Chengwei would have needed a character that was six to eight months old and he would have had to team up with five to ten people to get the dragon sword.

"The chances of them getting it aren't very high - around 50,000 to one."

Mr Burgess said online gaming in the UK was attracting a new and surprising breed of player.

"The average age is 20 to 26," he said. "But the most accelerating group of players are what we call the silver brigade, the over 55s.

"Online games are different from computer games like Doom which are fast-action. Online games players are expecting to play them for a year-plus. You can take your time and team up with people. It makes it much more appealing to families and encourages all ages."