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Pokemon Go is named Google Play's biggest game of 2016

 Seels are one of the dozens of Pokemon characters players try to catch
 Seels are one of the dozens of Pokemon characters players try to catch  Seels are one of the dozens of Pokemon characters players try to catch

POKEMON Go, the augmented reality app that sparked a virtual monster-hunting craze in the summer, has been the most popular game of 2016 on Google Play.

The app was downloaded millions of times and sparked controversy after its release in July, with authorities issuing warnings over people playing the game while driving, and some public spaces banning the app on their premises after players flooded to hotspots in the app to find Pokemon.

(David Mirzoeff/PA)

Google Play – the technology giant’s app store for Android users – also announced its most popular music downloads for the year, with Rihanna’s Work the most streamed song ahead of Calvin Harris’s This Is What You Came For, which also featured Rihanna.

The app marketplace has more than a billion monthly active users, and is home to more than a million apps and 40 million songs, as well as TV shows and books.

(Kathy Willens/AP)

The Girl On The Train, the Paula Hawkins novel that made the jump to cinema this year, was the most popular book from the store, with the script book for Harry Potter And The Cursed Child also making the top five. Another book-turned-film, Jojo Moyes’s Me Before You, also featured in the book list.

The most recent instalment in the Star Wars franchise, The Force Awakens, was the most downloaded movie, ahead of Marvel’s Deadpool and astronaut drama The Martian.

Game Of Thrones and The Walking Dead topped the TV show list.