Oslo. A senior Norwegian politician drew criticism on Wednesday (24/08) for playing Pokemon Go on her smart phone during a parliamentary hearing about the country's defense policy.

Liberal Party leader Trine Skei Grande was caught on camera during a foreign affairs and defense committee hearing catching a Pokemon - it was not immediately clear which one - after asking a question to a group of military experts.

The Liberals are a key supporter in parliament of the minority coalition in power led by Prime Minister Erna Solberg.

"It is crucial that we take our responsibility in the NATO alliance and the Arctic seriously. We have been talking about very important things today," Oeyvind Halleraker, the committee's deputy leader told the daily VG, which first reported the story.

Grande did not immediately reply to requests for a comment by Reuters. To the daily VG, Grande said by SMS that "some of us have heads that listen better when doing something brain dead at the same time. We are not all alike ..."

She later told VG that she had stopped playing after other members of the committee had said they had taken offence to her activity.

The popularity of Pokemon Go, developed by Niantic and an affiliate of Japan's Nintendo Co Ltd, has had some unintended consequences.

On Wednesday the Philippines became the latest country to ban it from government offices following similar decisions by Southeast Asian neighbors to limit the blockbuster smartphone game because of its impact on productivity.

Reuters

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