A man charged with slicing off his wife's head with a box cutter told police on the island of Sicily he was jealous because she spent so much time sending messages on the internet, Italian media reported yesterday.

Giuseppe Castro, 35, is accused of attacking his wife Maria Pia Scuto, 41, on Monday while she sat at the computer in the family home in Catania, the island's second-largest city.

Public prosecutor Salvatore Faro said Mr Castro had told the police he acted in a fit of rage, convinced that his wife was cheating on him with an internet lover, media reported.

Their 15-year-old son had initially confessed to the crime, but later retracted his statement, saying he had being trying to prevent his younger sister from being left fatherless.

Police have confiscated three computers from the family home and found records of several internet passwords for online chatting sites.