Breivik trial enters third day

The trial of accused mass murderer and anti-Islamist Anders Behring Breivik enters its third day in Oslo.

The Norwegian national is charged with gunning down 69 people at a summer camp last year, as well as killing another eight in a bomb blast.

A witness for the defence, sociologist and professor Thomas Hylland Eriksen, says Breivik cannot tell the difference between reality and the computer games he played.

Wearing a police uniform during the assault he may have been living a fantasy, unaware that his actions were meted out in the real world.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) SOCIOLOGIST, PROFESSOR AT OSLO UNIVERSITY AND CALLED WITNESS FOR THE DEFENCE, THOMAS HYLLAND ERIKSEN, SAYING:

"So, when he puts on his uniform he is no longer the lone slightly unsuccessful young man from the west end of Oslo, who never completed an education, never did really well in his working life. He becomes a knight, a defender of the civilisation of Europe against the invading Muslims with his home-made uniform with all the insignias and medals

that he has bought on e-bay and with membership in the big and powerful, secret society, the Knights Templar."

The professor said the defence would likely use his testimony to argue that Breivik was sane when he committed his crime.

(SOUNDBITE) (English) SOCIOLOGIST, PROFESSOR AT OSLO UNIVERSITY AND CALLED WITNESS FOR THE DEFENCE, THOMAS HYLLAND ERIKSEN, SAYING:

"I expect that they want me to help them substantiate the claim that he was not insane, which of course is a difficult question. What I can say is that his world view, or large parts of his world view are fairly widely shared, not as it were by a majority of the population in Europe, but by substantial groups who feel that globalisation is not going there way that their country is being invaded by foreign, alien enemy Muslims, that Muslims can never be good democrats, and that we are being ruled by spineless multiculturalists who don't see the dangers of Islam and who even can maybe be complicit in their plans to take over Europe."

So far, Breivik, who has pleaded not guilty, has admitted to the July attacks which he told the court were "sophisticated and spectacular" and that he would do it all over again.

The trial is set to continue for 10 weeks.

Jessica Gray, Reuters