Pokemon Go! - friend or foe?

With the game becoming a huge craze over the past two months, it has received mixed reaction from members of the public.

Much of the game's appeal lies in the way the little cartoon monsters in the shape of everything from goldfish to dragons pop up around you, overlaid on your phone's camera images.

The game also encourages players to explore the world around them by making them visit landmarks designated as "Pokestops" and "Gyms".

These could be anything from the local school to a major tourist attraction like India's Taj Mahal.

At Pokestops players can collect the tools they need to catch the critters, while at gyms they can fight them against each other.

In both cases, the locations are designated by the game's California-based designer Niantic.

The company used data from an earlier game called Ingress in which players could walk around the streets capturing locations on a GPS map. Niantic grew its original list of landmarks with extra suggestions from players.

- Where do Pokemon appear -

A Pokemon can appear on your smartphone screen at any time, in any place.

The game's algorithm places the monsters more or less at random although you are more likely to find different types of Pokemon in different locations.

There's no need to be right on top of a Pokemon to catch it the system allows for a capture within a several-metre radius, meaning you shouldn't have to drive to a screeching halt in the middle of the road just to add it to your collection.

Players as young as 13 and as old as 60 have been hooked to wanting to 'be the very best' and some have even gone as far as to look up cheats so they could show of their higher levels and latest's catches to their friends.

The makers of Pokemon Go have now had to issue a warning to all players saying if they are caught cheating they will be given permanent bans.

The comment comes after some users were able to trick the app into believing they were in a false location. This can help bag specific Pokemon or save them from actually leaving their homes.

The warning is included in the game's updated terms and conditions.

Is Pokemon putting people at risk?

Two Singaporean men have been arrested this week after getting into a fight triggered by the mobile phone game.

The fight broke out between a motorist and a pedestrian on Sunday at the carpark entrance of a mall in Singapore's popular Orchard Road shopping district.

According to a police statement, the pedestrian was playing the augmented reality game on his phone while crossing the road.

The motorist honked his horn at the player, setting off an argument which led to the fight.

Both men were arrested for affray, an offence which carries a jail term of up to a year, a Sg$5,000 ($3,700) fine or both.

They were the first people to be arrested in the city-state where fights in public are rare in connection with the game.

In the ten days since it launched in Singapore, the police have issued safety warnings urging pedestrians to be aware of their surroundings and watch out for traffic while playing.

Pictures on social media show hundreds gathered in Hougang, a suburb popular for catching rare Pokemon characters.

Players have also been seen dashing across roads and holding up a bus while searching for the virtual creatures.

Authorities worldwide are grappling with the explosive popularity of the gaming app, which has caused accidents and prompted bans.

-Which places have banned Pokémon Go- 　

Sites that have expressed irritation at Pokemon Go players include private properties, government buildings, historic monuments and memorial sites.

A couple in Michigan is suing Niantic, the company behind Pokémon Go, for encouraging players to enter their property.

The couple from St. Clair Shores, have filed a lawsuit against Niantic, claiming their “once-quiet street has degenerated into ‘a nightmare’ for Plaintiffs and their neighbors.”

The visitors that flocked to the area showed little respect for the neighborhood they were passing through, the lawsuit claims, “Pokémon Go players parked their cars in front of Plaintiffs’ and their neighbors’ homes, blocking their driveways.”

The park’s operating hours did little to impede the players who would “‘[hide] on our street or in the bushes, then come right back once police leave.’”

In addition, players wandered onto private property and would grow aggressive when confronted.

The lawsuit claims that when they weren’t verbally assaulting property owners, players would look into their windows, trample landscaping and changed the atmosphere of the neighborhood they moved to because of the safety and privacy.

They aren’t the only people having issues with Pokémon Go’s choices for locations. The Holocaust Museum had similar complaints, along with a cemetery in Alabama.

The museum at the Auschwitz Nazi death camp, the Holocaust memorial in Berlin and Japan's Hiroshima memorial have all complained about visitors bent over their mobiles trying to catch Pikachus instead of contemplating the weight of history.

Iran and Saudi Arabia have also declared blanket bans on the game.

The Iranian ban came days after its release last month, with officials saying it could be used for spying because the app leads users to real-life locations though youngsters are playing regardless, using VPN connections to mask their location.

In Bosnia, people have been warned not to risk entering areas littered with mines from the 1990s war just because a much-coveted Pokemon may be lurking nearby.