THE new gaming sensation Pokeman Go which has people visiting real places to collect virtual creatures is reclaiming the streets as a playground, according to a Scottish GP.

Dr Margaret McCartney, a family doctor in Glasgow, has praised the craze for its "tantalising side-effect" - encouraging exercise as people go in search of the characters.

She decided to back the trend after spending the school holidays with her eight-year-old son playing the game in Glasgow.

"With the game we are averaging walking 10 to 12 kilometres a day," she said. "And that is just in the evening. I am doing two hours walking after work."

It also increased social interaction as they met other players, she said, describing chats while tracking down creatures in places such as Kelvingrove Park and Glasgow Botanic Gardens.

Writing in the British Medical Journal, Dr McCartney noted pros and cons to the game have been reported since its launch earlier this summer.

One player walked 140 miles (225km) and lost two stone (12.7kg) while collecting all of the characters, she said, and there have been claims that the app could ease the burden of obesity and Type 2 diabetes.

However, these claims are not from scientific studies but anecdotal evidence, she cautioned.

She also noted apparent dangers. Writing in the BMJ, she said: "Pokémon hunters have been rescued by emergency services from sea and caves. The game draws people to real places, making it easy for criminals to spot congregation points. Teenagers in London were robbed of their phones at gunpoint, and US players have been involved in real shoot-outs."

However, while believing that "Pokemon Go can and should be made safer" she used her editorial to draw attention to the unseen benefits.

Dr McCartney said: "We never hear about the things that didn't happen: the heart attacks prevented through more exercise, or the vitamin D deficiency that geeks have avoided, blinking in the sunlight while catching a Pikachu monster.

"Most health apps that promote physical activity tend to get users who want to be healthy. Pokemon Go isn't marketed as a health app, but players still end up doing a lot of walking."

This, she told The Herald, suggested "the way for health apps to go is not to be health apps, but to be fun." Dr McCartney continued: "I really believe in having open public spaces which are for people, not cars. I do not see people going outside the way I did when I was little and one of the reasons for that, I think, is cars. This is a way of using open spaces for pleasure."

Her article concluded: "The possibilities for apps to make the streets an active, reclaimed playground in which to have interconnected fun are boundless. Increased physical activity is a tantalising side-effect. Game on."