KUALA LUMPUR: Half of ethnic Chinese schoolchildren in Malaysia are short-sighted, according to experts who say computer games, early reading and myopic parents could be to blame.

In multicultural Malaysia, some 50 percent of Chinese pupils are short-sighted compared to just 15 percent of ethnic Malays and 17 percent of Indian students, National University of Malaysia head of optometry Norhani Mohidin said, according to the Bernama news agency Monday. Norhani said it was unclear exactly why, but researchers at an international optometry conference here said it was likely a combination of genetics and lifestyle factors.

Neighbouring Singapore, which is mainly ethnic Chinese, has recorded the world's worst eyesight, with over a third of young children myopic.

"Let's say that ethnicity could be one of the factors of myopia, but this is still being researched," Nathan Efron, an optometry professor from Australia's Queensland University of Technology, told Bernama at the meeting.

"If parents wore glasses, then there is a chance that the children will have myopia too," he said.

Children in urban areas, who spend more time watching television or playing computer games, are more likely to become myopic at an early age compared to those from rural areas, he said.

"In the urban area these days, children were taught to read from as young as two years old and that could also lead to myopia because they have the book close to their eyes and try to focus on how to read."