He has impressed world leaders, has a growing army of fans — many female — and is even credited with driving up tourism to Canada.

But photogenic Prime Minister Justin Trudeau has now displayed another gift even few of his most ardent supporters knew he had: a more than passable knowledge of quantum computing.

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The internet was abuzz with gushing praise for 44-year-old Mr Trudeau after a journalist jokingly asked him on Friday to explain quantum computing.

But instead of looking puzzled and joining in with the joke, Mr Trudeau set about giving a detailed answer that had experts at the Perimeter Institute in Waterloo, Ontario nodding approvingly and brought the packed audience to its feet.

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"Don't interrupt me," Mr Trudeau said mischievously, a grin forming on his face, before launching seamlessly into his explanation, punctuated by giggles from the admiring audience and culminating in cheers and applause.

"Don't get me going on this or we'll be here all day, trust me," the Liberal leader concluded, to more laughs.

Twitter lathered itself into a froth as footage of Mr Trudeau's answer went viral.

"I love Justin Trudeau. I wanna be Canadian," one user tweeted, while another wrote: "Hope I'm not falling into a mania... but Trudeau explaining quantum computing is pretty great."

AFP