Who says work and play don't mix?

Just recently, photos of Norway Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg using his brand new Apple iPad at the Kennedy Airport in New York to "run his daily tasks of governing his country" started circulating all over the Internet, as the technology world's newest pet has just been introduced to the public a week ago.

Stoltenberg, who was in New York for the international nuclear summit hosted by US President Barack Obama, got stuck waiting for a plane back home after his flight got canceled following the no-fly policy imposed in Europe as volcanic ash clouds blanketed the skies.

"When we were in the U.S., it was one of several tools that he used to keep in touch with the office back in Norway, to do his work," Trude Maaseide, a spokesperson for the prime minister, told during an interview with the Associated Press (AP).

The iPad, which was released in the United States last April 3, combines the features of a notebook computer with the touch-pad functions of the iPod.

The Prime Minister's decision to "run the government" in an unconventional way drew varied reactions from the public, with experts labeling it a "risky" move that might result to a security breach both for Apple and the Norwegian government.

"It's interesting. Here you have a brand-new technology and a head of state actually using the technology to manage the country," said Rob Enderle, principal analyst at the Enderle Group, as quoted in a report by Newsfactor.com. "It either says an awful lot about the device or an awful lot about what he needs to do to manage the country."

There was also a claim that Apple Inc. could be getting an unsolicited exposure from Stoltenberg's action, which could also turn into a bad marketing scheme in the long run.

"If there is a known breach, it will do far more damage to Apple than this particular stunt will do good," Enderle said. "If it backfires on him it's going to reflect poorly on Apple. All Apple can say is that they designed the device to do these things, but it's not going to help Apple much."