They said net obsession was now a more serious problem than lottery addiction, warning doctors across the Europe to be prepared for a flood of people with an ``over-dependency'' on the internet.

According to draft policy documents under consideration by health advisers in Brussels, internet addicts will be regarded the same way as alcoholics and gamblers and receive treatment on the national health services.

Under the new medical guidelines, up to 4,00,000 Britons or 10 per cent of computer owners who regularly surf the web or make friends through ``chat rooms'' will be adjudged as suffering from a behaviour disorder serious enough to warrant intensive counselling.

The latest research, unveiled at the annual meeting of the American psychological association in Boston this weekend, indicates that there are realproblems associated with the rise of the internet, which links more than 100 million computers around the world.

Dr Kimberly Young, a lecturer at the University of Pittsburgh, who briefed EU psychologists on net addiction, said three years ago it was thought that bulk of addicts would be young middle-class men. But, spread of cheaper and easier-to-use home computers has made even women and retired people regular surfers.