A couple playing Pokemon GO in a small town in Australia have been threatened at gunpoint.

Police said two armed masked men held up the couple while they were at Tahmoor Park south of Sydney on Wednesday night searching for the virtual "pocket monsters".

The would-be robbers, who were carrying a rifle, fled empty handed.

New South Wales state police said there was "nothing to suggest" they had lured the 29-year-old players to the park through the app's geolocation feature.

Image: Iconic Pokemon character Pikachu features in the game

Pokemon GO is a smartphone app of a geo-caching game that sends players to different locations - Pokestops - to collect various creatures who appear on the screen of the phone as if they were in the real world.


The popular app, which launched in Australia last week, is already being blamed for a wave of crimes, traffic offences and complaints.

In another incident, two 17-year-olds were fined for playing the game while behind the wheel in a Sydney suburb.

And Western Australia State said a patrol vehicle had to swerve to avoiding hitting a girl who was looking down at her phone while playing the game.

"We turned round and spoke to her and she said she was addicted to the game," a police officer told a local newspaper.

Image: Pokemon GO includes the original line-up of Pokemon

The force tweeted afterwards: "Pokemon is dangerous."

Australia is not the only country reporting trouble allegedly linked to the game.

Earlier this week, four US teenagers were accused of using the game to lure victims to certain locations in order to rob them.

Pokemon GO was released in the UK on Thursday after breaking download records following its launch in the US.