August 19th, 2016 by WCBC Radio

 A panel will be discussing how the popular "Pokemon Go" smartphone game presents challenges for local governments.

It will be a topic of discussion on Friday at the Maryland Association of Counties summer conference in Ocean City.

Participants will be talking about the positive and negative aspects of the game.

For one thing, it has gotten players out to explore parts of their communities they normally don't see. On the other hand, people have been injured while walking distractedly or playing in inappropriate places. Some players have even been targeted by criminals.

The panel will discuss how state and local officials are handling the additional safety, law enforcement and recreation needs caused by the game's popularity. They'll also discuss the future of games like it.