Global Pokénomics gives businesses a real-world boost

Phenomenal success of Poki(C)mon Go sees players of smartphone game exploring shops, cafes and museums worldwide

Transfixed players have fallen off a cliff in California, wandered across the border in Canada and broken a limb in Australia while hunting Poki(C)mon. The authorities at Auschwitz and the Hiroshima memorial have asked players to stay away; the police in Portugal, the Chinese army, the Indonesian civil service and Japan's national centre of incident readiness and cybersecurity have all issued warnings.

In Britain, four teenagers had to be rescued in Wiltshire after following imaginary Poki(C)mon down a 100ft mineshaft; two girls wandered half a mile out to sea on mudflats in Somerset; and a lifeboat crew was scrambled after three girls were seen wandering into rough seas in Hastings while playing the game. Network Rail has displayed signs warning commuters against straying on to tracks.