Lunch Beat

Some workers in Sweden have found a rather offbeat way to spend their lunch hour. Actually, on-beat is more like it. Dipping in sweat and awash in disco lights, they dance away to pulsating club music at Lunch Beat, a trend that started in Stockholm and is spreading to other cities in Europe. Then they go back to work.

"It is absolutely fantastic!" exclaimed Asa Anderson, 33, who broke away from her job at a coffee shop to bust away some moves last week. "It is the first time I am here. I'm totally happy and ecstatic, totally covered in sweat and I am full of energy. It does not get any better than this".

The first Lunch Beat was held in June 2010 in an underground parking lot in Stockholm. Only 14 people turned up. But they had so much fun they immediately planned another event. Word soon spread and now the Swedish capital has monthly Lunch Beats that attracts hundreds.

Similar events have been held in at least 10 other Swedish cities and in Finland and Serbia. Portugal's first try will be in Porto this month, organisers say. - AP