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Saudi Arabia bans Pokemon

Saudi Arabia's mufti, the highest religious authority in the conservative Muslim state, has banned the popular children's play of Pokemon, saying it promotes Zionism and involves gambling.

The religious edict issued over the weekend said the Pokemon video game and cards have symbols that include "the star of David, which everyone knows is connected to international Zionism and is Israel's national emblem".

The kingdom's senior cleric, Sheikh Abdul Aziz bin Abdullah, protested that most of the cards figure symbols such as "crosses, sacred for Christians and triangles, significant for Freemasons".

And he charged that the worldwide phenomenon of Pokemon launced in Japan in 1996 was a bad influence.

"It resembles a game of gambling because of the competition which at times involves sums of money being exchanged between collectors of the cards" Sheikh Abdul Aziz said.

A Nintendo spokesman said that Nintendo did not design the Pokemon items with religious symbols in mind.

But the company has promised to investigate the claims that have led to the ban.

The Pokemon-craze has enthralled the minds of children across the world since it was launched.

Its success has spread to trading cards, comic books, a television series, film and toys, becoming a multibillion dollar enterprise that is enormously popular around the world.

The game has been criticised in several countries, with a Christian church in Mexico calling it "demonic", and organisations in Slovakia saying television shows based on the game were detrimental to children.

In Britain, police have urged parents not to allow children out with the cards.

But across Britain, school children have fought to get their hands on the cards of the 151 Pokémon characters, based on the Japanese cartoon, film and computer game.

And with the Pokémon industry worth a cool £4bn, counterfeiters are also after a piece of the action.