London/Seoul, March 5 (IANS) A couple hooked to the internet in South Korea raised an online child but let their own baby daughter starve to death, a media report said.

The couple in South Korea was hooked to an online game where they were raising a virtual daughter. They used to spend upto 12 hours a night at internet cafes, leaving their three-month-old daughter alone at their apartment in Suwon, South Korea, Daily Mail reported Friday.

The online game allows users interact with others in the virtual world and nurture an extra avatar after they reach a certain level.

The couple - Kim Yoo-chul, 41 and his wife Choi Mi-sun, 25 - has been arrested.

'They called in last September to report that they found their daughter dead after coming back home in the morning.

'They had spent 12 hours, all night at a PC bang (a Korean internet cafe),' Daily Mail quoted Detective Chung Jin-Won as saying.

The couple has been charged with child abuse and neglect after officials noticed that the child was severely dehydrated.

They confessed to feeding rotten powdered milk to the child and often spanked her.