Parents have been warned about a new sick WhatsApp 'suicide' game called Momo, The Mirror reported.

The disturbing new online game which targets young people has emerged on Whatsapp.

Momo begins with a shadowy controller sending violent images to the victim over the messaging app.

The game then threatens the player if they refuse to follow the game's 'orders'.

The avatar for Momo is a haunting image of a woman with grotesque features and bulging eyes taken from the work of Japanese artist Midori Hayashi, who is not associated with the game.

Cops in Argentina are investigating if the suicide of a 12-year-old girl in the town of Ingeniero Maschwitz near Buenos Aires is linked to Momo.

She filmed a video on her phone shortly before she died, reports the Buenos Aires Times.

Officers suspect someone encouraged her to take her own life and are investigating an unidentified 18-year-old teenager believed to have been in contact with the girl.