Even with the stock market's recent volatility - with its main indices jumping more than 40 percent this year on top of last year's meteoric 130 percent rise - then recently plunging more than 15 percent in a week's time stock fever remains a national passion.

The spectacular bull run, not surprisingly, attracted a growing number of people ranging from pensioners to students to the market, as evidenced by the soaring numbers of new stock accounts.

Total stock accounts broke the 100 million mark from May 21 to 25, a week before the stamp tax went into effect.

Shares are now the talk of the town.

But a particular group of people who may not be excited about the situation are the many bosses struggling to keep their employees focused on their work rather than their portfolios.

Some offices have been turned into virtual trading floors during trading hours - 9:30 am to 11:30 am and then 1 pm to 3 pm - local newspapers have reported.

Office workers are busily concentrating on their computers, but many times not working, instead exchanging trading tips and stock picks over instant messaging programs like MSN and QQ.

And in some places, it is now considered taboo or at least bad manners to disturb a staff member or government office worker during trading hours, newspapers have reported.

"Our company has already issued rules banning stock trading during work time," says an editor at a leading web portal in Beijing.

"But it was so tempting to defy the rules as the stock market continued to break new records before recent fluctuations," says the editor, who requested anonymity,

His company, he said, has already installed firewalls to block the running of some stock trading systems.

"As far as I know, many of my colleagues are still continuing their business as usual by turning to other methods," says the 28-year-old editor.

"It was too unrealistic for the company not to let employees trade stocks during the bullish market," he says.

Yet technology, just like a coin, has its two sides.

1

2

(For more biz stories, please visit Industry Updates)