blueyonder multiplayer gamer is first to insure his fingers.

One of the UK's leading online gamers - Alex 'dreg' Nikitin from Enfield, London - is insuring his digits for £375,000, because they have become such vital assets in his quest to conquer the virtual world.

Alex, who is sponsored by blueyonder, the internet arm of cable company Telewest Broadband, will be one of a handful of British competitors taking part in this week's World Cyber Games in Korea (Daejeon, October 28th to November 3rd 2002).

Missing a game due to injury could result in him losing his place in the tournament, not to mention missing out on valuable earnings.

Alex said: "Qualifying for the World Cyber Games has led me to investigate ways to protect my key assets - my fingers. Online games such as Quake3 and Unreal Tournament 2003 are being played faster than ever before, thanks to broadband internet access, powerful PCs and hours of dedicated practice.

"That's great news for competitive gamers like myself, but it also increases the chances of stress and injury to my fingers and they are the most essential tools of the trade."

Alex won his place at the World Cyber Games by coming second in the UK heats after spending months perfecting his skills on blueyonder's gaming service (http://gaming.blueyonder.co.uk). Telewest Broadband has funded Alex's travel to Korea and Alex will compete as 'blueyonder.dreg' for the duration of the tournament.

Chad Raube, director of internet services at Telewest Broadband, added: "With internet services like blueyonder broadband becoming much faster and games becoming slicker and even more demanding, it's not surprising Alex is insuring his fingers."