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Lithuanian Prime Minister Andrius Kubilius has credited a new online game, in which players shoot him to stop him stealing their money and destroying the economy, as demonstrating the development of the country's IT sector - and helping his marriage.

Kubilius, who has led a harsh austerity drive in Lithuania since the 2008 crisis devastated the economy, said that his wife has enjoyed playing the game - which features him as a Terminator-style, austerity-imposing android named Androidas Kubilinatorius - as a form of therapy, reports AFP. However, he also admitted that it underscores popular discontent in the crisis-weary Baltic state.

According to the game's backstory, the android was created in 2018 during a massive economic slump, but was sent back to 2008 to steal Lithuanians' money and destroy the economy so that it could be rebuilt and thus avoid the future meltdown.

As Mrs Kubilius has found out, players are challenged to gun down Androidas Kubilinatorius as he emerges from the country's parliament building. "You know, my wife once tried it and enjoyed it a lot, becoming a real professional," the PM said.

"That benefits our family relations, as emotions get expressed online," he added, after featuring a picture of the game in a conference presentation.

Having done a decent job of being a good sport, Kubilius stretched it a bit far when he suggested that the game illustrates the health of Lithuania's IT sector, although he also admitted it reflects the unpopularity of his policies. "The game is a result of two things: efforts to consolidate the budget by unpopular cuts in spending and pensions, as well as the development of modern technologies," he stated.

The game was designed by a student who told Lithuanian media he did it for fun, not political reasons.