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- The first few in what is expected to be an avalanche of World Cup 98 Websites were launched this week.

Associated Newspapers and the Telegraph group led the way. Soccernet, from Associated, has launched www.worldcup.soccernet.com, while the ElectronicTelegraph has unveiled www.footballworldcup.com.

Sites from the the Guardian and Mirror Group, among others, are expected to be announced sometime in the next two weeks.

Aside from offering news, analysis and comment, Soccernet will deliver animated action replays, chat rooms, games and contests as well as a wealth of statistics and background information on all the teams and the tournament itself.

In addition, Soccernet will include online shopping facilities allowing fans to purchase official team merchandise directly from the site.

The Electronic Telegraph site will feature online voting for the player of the tournament and access to The Daily Telegraph archive, a historical record of the event dating back to the original reports of the first World Cup Final in 1930.