BEIJING (AP) -- China's Health Ministry has ordered a hospital to stop using electric shock therapy to cure youths of Internet addiction, saying there was no scientific evidence it worked.

Linyi Mental Health Hospital in eastern Shandong province used the treatment as part of a four-month program that has so far treated nearly 3,000 youths, the China Youth Daily newspaper has reported, citing the psychiatrist who runs it, Yang Yongxin.

Chinese psychologists say symptoms of Internet addiction include being online more than six hours a day -- playing games and looking at pornography rather than working or studying -- and getting angry when unable to get online. Patients are charged 5,500 yuan ($805) a month.