By Rahul Vaishnavi

New Delhi, June 12 (IANS) He juggles hectic corporate meetings and numerous deadlines, but 28-year-old marketing professional Rajiv Singh never fails to plough his farm and water his plants. Surprised? Don't be. He plays the online game Farmville.

Singh's is just one of the mushrooming cases of online game addiction - a trend that psychologists say is a good stress buster, if not overdone.

For instance, in an environment where concrete buildings leave barely any space for trees, Farmville on social networking site Facebook offers the opportunity to have a sprawling farm and grow exotic vegetables, but with a condition. You must plough the field, water your plants and manure them just like you would in a natural farm.

"Call it whatever, but I find Farmville extremely relaxing. I grow carrots, cauliflowers, brinjals and even have some farm animals like cattle and hens! Somehow, moving away from the gruelling schedule of working endlessly on the computer and then driving through traffic jams, this is a perfect breakaway," Singh told IANS.

Ginni Bajaj, another young professional, said: "Every now and then, between my work, I go online and play a game of scrabble or Farmville. It acts as a good stress buster or boredom slayer and I can re-focus on my work better after that."

"Many times my friends, who are online, also join me in the game," she added.

For lack of space for physical activity or otherwise, kids too love playing online games.

Ten-year-old Vansh Batra said: "I love playing online games and since my summer vacations are on, I have ample time. At times my dad joins me after getting back from work."

According to Deepali Batra, clinical psychologist at Batra Hospital, online games act as good stress busters and are advised for professionals who have long and gruelling work hours.

"Whenever we hold stress management workshops, we advise professionals to take a short break and play some online games. This can improve their focus and output," Batra told IANS.

Tarun Sahni, a 30-year-old professional, said: "Today, meeting deadlines takes priority over meeting a relative or a friend. And after a 12-hour shift, you don't have the energy for any outdoor games or sports. So to unwind, online games are the best option."

Some other popular online games that young professionals have taken to are Teen Patti, Texas Poker, Mafia Wars, Restaurant City and Mind Jolt.

Experts, however, say that a balance should be maintained while playing these games.

Batra said: "A balance must be maintained between work and play. And even while playing online games, one should play more of puzzles and quizzes."

Samir Parikh, consultant psychiatrist at Max Healthcare hospital, said: "Online games are a quick escape for young professionals leading a hectic lifestyle. But an excess of it means compromising their social life which may be catastrophic."

"Physical activity is essential; so a person needs to strike a balance between the two," he said.

"The dazzling splendour of the virtual world makes the youth succumb easily. Websites like secondlife.com, gojiyo.com, Farmville, when they are introduced in the panorama of the animated world, affects their mental health to a great extent".

Even school and college goers have taken to online games in a big way.

"Youngsters tend to get cut off from the real world and become engrossed in virtual gaming websites. Eventually they tend to lose interest in their daily normal activities, start losing interest in curricular, and co-curricular activities and studies appear secondary to them, and winning these games becomes of primary importance," he said

Apart from affecting social behaviour, the tendency to remain in isolation could also adversely affect the way genes work as well as the immune responses of the body, experts say.

Net addicts often suffer from frequent headaches and eye strain.