BANGALORE, INDIA: Are you frequenter in the darker alleys of the Internet for sexual gratification? Do you have the habit of indulging in online sex, fetish and visiting swinging sites? Then beware! There are chances that you are going to be a victim of acute depression, anxiety and stress.

According to a new research from Australia, those who seek out cyber sex have "alarmingly high" rate of depression. And this cyber sex addicts devote hours a day to the clandestine sexcapades, the study found.

Such addicts, on an average, spend more than 12 hours a week chatting, participating in cyber sex with webcams, downloading video and images, or sending erotic emails. And this addiction has no age bar too. From teenagers to goldie oldies engage in this activity for the sake of pleasure!

Marcus Squirrell, a doctoral student at Swinburne University of Technology in Melbourne, conducted the research.

As part of this he surveyed 1325 American and Australian men and 65 per cent of them said, they had met someone off line that they had first encountered online, said a report. The survey also pointed to the high rate of poor mental health among the sample group.

"We found that 27 per cent of them were moderate to severely depressed on the standard depression scales," Squirrell told Sydney Morning Herald newspaper.

According to him, 30 per cent had high levels of anxiety and 35 per cent were moderately to severely stressed.

The rate of depression and anxiety was proportional to the frequency and intensity of online sexual activity, he said, though they visit such sites to 'lift their moods'.

Are you one among those virtual pleasure seekers? If so do you think such 'mood lifting' activities may result in you reaching the doors of a psychiatric clinic?