Germans see Snowden as hero but don't favour asylum - poll

NSA whistleblower Edward Snowden, an analyst with a U.S. defence contractor, is seen in this still image taken from video during an interview by The Guardian in his hotel room in Hong Kong June 6, 2013. MANDATORY CREDIT. REUTERS/Glenn Greenwald/Laura Poitras/Courtesy of The Guardian/Handout via Reuters

BERLIN (Reuters) - Most Germans consider Edward Snowden a hero for revealing secret U.S. monitoring of its allies' communications, including Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone, but are less sure about the idea of giving him asylum, according to a new poll.

Six out of 10 people polled for public broadcaster ARD said they admired the former U.S. spy agency contractor, against 14 percent who thought of him as a criminal.