Alex Nikitin has been searching for the best way to protect his hands.
But, unlike most of us, he's not interested in the latest hand cream or the warmest woollen mittens - he wants to insure his digits for £375,000.
The 17-year-old gamer from London has, along with about 500 other gamers from 45 countries, just competed in the World Cyber Games, which were held in South Korea's third biggest city, Daejeon.
Unfortunately Mr Nikitin failed to place. The UK managed just two silver medals at the games and finished sixth overall, well behind the winners Korea but comfortably ahead of the US in 11th place.
Mr Nikitin said: "Qualifying for the World Cyber Games led me to investigate ways to protect my key assets - my fingers.
Online games like Quake III and Starcraft are being played faster than ever thanks to broadband internet access, powerful PCs and hours of dedicated practise.
That's great news for competitive gamers like myself but also increases the chance of stress and injury to my fingers and they are the essential tools of the trade."
He also secured sponsorship from blueyonder, the internet arm of cable company Telewest Broadband, after finishing second in the UK qualifiers for the competition.
Although £375,000 might sound a bit on the high side, computer games are more than just fun for some gamers.
A number of professional players claim to earn upwards of £50,000 a year playing games in tournaments around the world and the winners of the Daejeon tournament shared in a 300,000 (£192,000) prize fund.
Finalists competed in six official games - Starcraft, 2002 FIFA World Cup, Age of Empires II; Counter Strike, Quake III: Arena, and Unreal Tournament 2003.
The choice of venue might also seem a bit strange but if you compare the UK's snail-like broadband revolution" with South Korea's high-speed reality it makes perfect sense.
It is one of the world's most wired countries with more than 65 per cent of all households hooked up to the broadband network and millions of people playing online games.
It also has two cable channels dedicated to broadcasting professional gaming leagues.
Hundreds of professional online gamers compete in these leagues sponsored by game makers and corporations.
This helps explain why about 30,000 Korean gamers fought since April for a place in the final team of 16, one of whom was Lim Yo-hwan, the champion of Starcraft at World Cyber Games in 2001.
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