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Norway PM pops out for Pokemon play in Bratislava

An avid gamer, Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg took a break from her official duties in Bratislava this week to hunt for Pokemon monsters in the Slovak capital's old town.

Accompanied by bodyguards, senior officials and a television crew, Solberg took advantage of some free time between two meetings on Monday to hit the town with her eyes firmly fixed on her smartphone, television footage aired on Wednesday showed.

The 55-year-old conservative leader told TV2 that while she was also hunting for Pokemon monsters, she was mainly trying to hatch eggs to get her hands on the rarest Pokemons, which requires some players to walk as much as 10 kilometres (six miles).

The free Pokemon Go app uses graphics and satellite location and camera capabilities to overlay cartoon monsters on real-world settings, challenging players to capture and train the creatures for battles.

Previously known for her fondness for the game Candy Crush, Solberg said last week she had become fascinated with Pokemon Go “the day after I gave two interviews where I said I didn’t play it.”

“I was challenged by my younger sister who found a Pokemon on my veranda,” she told daily Aftenposten.

Slovakia holds the rotating presidency of the European Union — of which Norway is not a member but with which it has very close ties — and Solberg was in Bratislava to defend Norway’s interests ahead of upcoming talks on Britain’s exit from the EU.

phy/po/mt

© 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse

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