A Thai teenager is being hailed as "legendary" after chronicling his battle with drug addiction in an internet diary.

The 16-year-old's diary tells how he confessed his addiction to his parents, how he ran away from police, his stays in hospital and how he finally kicked the habit.

Thousands log on every day to Nattawud Daoruang's www.thailandlife.com. He spares no details of his struggle to escape drug abuse.

Nattawud is now being hailed by the Thai media as a 'legendary', a 'global citizen' and 'Thailand's youngest ambassador'.

There are plans to turn 'The Internet Diaries of Nattawud Daoruang' into a booklet to be distributed to Thai schools.

He was encouraged to write his diary by Richard Barrow, his British computer studies teacher at Sriwattayapaknam School in Bangkok's eastern suburbs.

Nattawud said: "I thought at the time it would not do anything to me, but only one time can make you a drug addict. I was around my friends and all of them were taking drugs."

Many visitors wrote to him sharing their own battles and urging him to beat his addiction.

One 17-year-old wrote from the US, saying his friends were all taking methamphetamine 'but I've been too scared to try it, and I never will, especially now after reading your diary'.

ananova.com (17/Dec/2001)