Mumbai Police caution gamers playing 'PokemonGo' on city roads

With the Pokemon Go, a new location- based augmented reality game, becoming a rage among youngsters, the Mumbai Police have cautioned people not to make it a cause of accidents while playing it on city roads.

The police have issued a series of tweets on its official twitter handle @Mumbai police, warning users about the hazards of the game. "Life is not a game. Especially not one to be played on the roads!" read one of the tweets. "What we don't know is usually what gets us killed!" Roads have never been the best place to play games!," warned another tweet.

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Talking about the game, city-based cyber expert Vijay Mukhi said it is an outdoor game where people play together and at times may get hurt. He advised children not to indulge in it while out on the roads. "The augmented reality and virtual was in pipeline for long. This is for the first time (with Pokemon Go) that has actually become a reality," he said.

"It's basically an outdoor game where people play together and get hurt. Parents should not allow an 8-10 year old kid to play it on the road. As it is the case, attention span is very limited and they may suddenly cross the road (while playing the game) and get hurt," he said. The reality game, which was first released in the US, Australia and New Zealand, is now available in more than 30 countries and has turned into a global phenomenon.

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Though the game is yet to be launched officially in India, it has already taken the country by storm and gamers are playing it by downloading the APK (Android application package) file. Players, known as 'trainers', download the Pokemon Go game to their smartphones.

To progress in the game, they must walk around to find and catch Pokemon and access specific locations called Pokestops - where Pokeballs and other useful items are collected. Getting to Pokestops, catching different Pokemon and hatching the Poke eggs requires lots of walking. Some of the gamers in other countries have reportedly met with accidents while playing it.

Source: PTI