German Chancellor Angela Merkel's mobile phone text messages are archived as official documents if they deal with political matters, her spokesman Steffen Seibert said Monday.
Merkel is a fan of sending SMS (short message service) texts to cabinet members and others, sparking a debate on whether they are official government communications.
News weekly Spiegel had asked whether Merkel's SMS texts, signed am, should be archived and subject to freedom of information requests or whether they can simply "disappear into her handbag."
Spiegel pointed out that the communications US President Barack Obama sends on his BlackBerry also have to enter the official White House archives.