In 2003, nearly 300 people died in Hong Kong from SARS which spread globally, killing a further 500 people. The city became a virtual ghost town.

Southern China remains a hotspot for seasonal flus and avian flu, which has killed more than 250 people in the last few years.

As a result, Hong Kong's government is cautious about infectious diseases, an attitude which led to the school closures.

The concept of online education has been around since the Internet began to spread in the 1990s, but has flourished in recent years partly thanks to free software schools can now download for web-based courses.

And some of the practitioners believe swine flu has just helped speed up an existing development that is becoming a crucial educational tool.

'While traditional face-to-face meetings can still be effective, applying (these) tools opens up new possibilities for learning that weren't possible 20 years ago,' said Paul White, a technology adviser for the English Schools Foundation, which runs 20 schools across the city.

'I don't see online learning replacing traditional teaching, but supporting it. Swine flu will just help to speed that process.' Teacher Joanne Townson said that her two daughters, aged six and nine, were already familiar with working online as part of their IT course.

'My kids do at least four hours of work every day,' said Ms Townson. 'The communication's been excellent and I'm impressed with the school's crisis management skills.' -- AFP