There are dozens of World Cup Web sites mushrooming into life in preparation for the football frenzy ahead this summer. This is the official online guide to the coupe du monde, presented by the organisers of France ‘98, and as such is full of facts about the forthcoming competition.

If you want to motivate pupils to use information technology, this could be a useful starting point. The Web site is well designed and allows you to navigate round a large volume of news, opinion and statistics withoutany undue complication.

The Web site is available in English and French and could provide lively material for language teaching, even if it is only to translate the claim on this French Web site that England’s crucial goal in the 1966 world cup final was “highly dubious”.