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A majority of medical students surveyed say video games played on platforms like the XBox 360, would be an acceptable tool for learning. REUTERS

A British gamer died after playing his Microsoft Xbox gaming console for up to 12 hours straight.

A post mortem analysis revealed that Chris Staniforth, 20, died from deep vein thrombosis, a blood clot that can be triggered by long spells of sitting.

"He lived for his Xbox," father David told the UK's Sun newspaper." I never dreamed he was in any danger. As a parent you think playing computer games can't do them any harm because you know what they are doing."

The family on Saturday launched a campaign to raise awareness about the health risks of playing online computer games for extended periods.

A coroner yesterday confirmed DVT had caused Chris's death and it was cited on his death certificate.

Deep vein thrombosis normally affects passengers on long-haul flights, but medical experts fear youngsters who spend hours glued to their consoles might also be at risk as well.

Professor Brian Colvin -- an expert on blood-related conditions -- said it was "unhealthy" for youngsters to spend long periods in front of their consoles.

"There's anxiety about obesity and children not doing anything other than looking at computer screens," he told The Sun.

He had no underlying conditions, or any previous medical history, but friends said Staniforth would play his Xbox for up to 12 hours at a time.

"He got sucked in playing Halo online against people from all over the world."

This is not the first case of people playing video games to death. A South-Korean gamer died in 2005 after playing computer games for three days straight.

Chris intended to have a career in computers and was recently offered a place at Leicester University to study Game Design.

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