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England's Howard Webb will be the referee for the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ final. The 38-year-old from Rotherham has been chosen for the final by FIFA's referees committee. Webb and his assistants Darren Cann and Michael Mullarkey will officiate in the final on Sunday between Spain and Holland at Johannesburg's Soccer City. He will become the first Englishman to referee the final since Jack Taylor in 1974.

Former national coach Luis Aragones believes Spain will go into the FIFA World Cup final against Holland as firm favourites. Aragones had taken the Spaniards to their maiden European Championships triumph in 2008. Now, as La Furia Roja aim to become only the second side in history to follow a Euro title with a World Cup triumph, Aragones is backing his former charges to pull off the feat. Speaking to Al-Jazeera, he said: "It will be difficult to beat Spain now.

Holland coach Bert van Marwijk admits it will be a tall order for his side to beat Spain in the FIFA World Cup™ final on Sunday. Holland are unbeaten in South Africa so far - having notched six victories out of six on their way to the final. Spain, on the other hand, started with a shock loss to Switzerland but have gradually been improving since then. They were close to their fluent best in the semi-final against Germany and most predict the Euro 2008 champions to add the World Cup to their trophy cupboard.

With the World Cup coming towards an end, FIFA's Technical Study group have announced their nominees for the Golden Ball award. David Villa and Wesley Sneijder are the favourites to win the World Cup's Golden Ball award for best player after the nominees were announced. FIFA's Technical Study Group selected 10 players to contest the coveted gong, which was last won by France's Zinedine Zidane at Germany 2006.

Spurs boss Harry Redknapp has confirmed that Tottenham are still hoping to sign Joe Cole this summer. The England international departed Chelsea at the end of last season and Spurs, Arsenal and Liverpool are among the clubs linked with the player. Redknapp has revealed Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy is in talks with the midfielder's representatives and a deal could be concluded for Cole to move to White Hart Lane.

Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson believes football is beginning to take hold in the United States. He expects a competitive edge to their matches on tour, as the squad prepare to leave for their training base in Chicago. The national side held England to a draw in the World Cup and Ferguson is convinced the standard of Major League Soccer is better than ever.

Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson is ready to turn Inter's Mario Balotelli into Old Trafford's new Cristiano Ronaldo. Despite Massimo Moratti claiming Balotelli had not asked to leave on Wednesday, reports in Italy insist Manchester United and Manchester City will wage a war over the striker. Sportmediaset.it claims Ferguson told former assistant, and current Portugal boss, Carlos Queiroz that he will sign Balotelli and develop him into United's new Ronaldo.

Manchester City are preparing a £20 million bid for Chelsea and Ivory Coast star striker Didier Drogba. City manager Roberto Mancini is reportedly a huge admirer of the powerful striker and is keen in prying him from Stamford Bridge, according to The Sun. Drogba is regarded as one of the most feared strikers in the world after winning the Premier League golden boot last season, scoring 29 league goals for Chelsea in the process and leading the Blues to the league and FA Cup titles.

Netherlands forward Dirk Kuyt has insisted that the Dutch will not fear Spain like how Germany did in the semi-finals. The Oranje will be aiming for a place in Dutch folklore when they take on the European champions in the World Cup final on Sunday. History will be made regardless of the outcome of the game as both sides have never in their history lifted the World Cup, with the Netherlands finishing second in 1974 and 1978 and Spain taking part in their first ever World Cup final.

Wimbledon champion Rafael Nadal has revealed that he will be among the Spanish supporters at the World Cup final. Spain take on Netherlands on Sunday for the world champion title and the 24-year-old has announced on his official website that he will be travelling to South Africa to cheer for his fellow countrymen. The Spaniard, who is currently world number one after winning his second Wimbledon crown, will be hoping his national team do the same and be crowned world champions for the first time in their history.

FIFA have revealed that the 2010 FIFA World Cup™ could be the last tournament under the existing system. The organizing body have come under intense scrutiny after the International Football Association Board's decision to reject goal-line technology and other aids for referees in March. If the decision was made otherwise, Frank Lampard's goal during England's 4-1 defeat to Germany would have stood thanks to the help of goal-line technology.

World Cup hopeful Wesley Sneijder has slammed the door on Manchester United. Inter Milan president Massimo Moratti indicated the Premier League giants had lodged a £25million bid for the midfield schemer. Sir Alex Ferguson has always been an admirer of the 26-year-old and with Paul Scholes about to start the final year of his career Sneijder would be an ideal replacement.

Eleven-time Qatar league champions Al Sadd have announced the signing of Algeria international Nadir Belhadj from Portsmouth. Al Sadd confirmed on their official website they have agreed terms with Portsmouth for the 28-year-old defender to join them on a permanent deal. Belhadj joined Portsmouth from French side Lens in 2009. "The move of Belhadj to Al Sadd is really big as he will be a big addition to the team," said Al Sadd general secretary Jassim Al Rumaihi to the club's official website.

Bruno Senna has been dropped by Hispania Racing for this weekend's British Grand Prix at Silverstone. Senna, nephew of late three-times world champion Ayrton, will be replaced by the team's test and reserve driver Sakon Yamamoto. It is understood Senna's release is due to a lack of sponsorship funds arriving on time, although Hispania team principal Colin Kolles is due to make clear the situation.

paying glowing tribute to retiring Muttiah Muralitharan, former Pakistani star Saqlain Mushtaq today said the Sri Lankan spinner was the best of his era and world cricket may not see a bowler like him in next 100 years. Murali , as he is called fondly, will call it quits after playing the first Test against India, starting July 18 in Galle. "I have no doubt in my mind he was the best spinner of his generation. A champion bowler no matter what some people say. I am sure many batsmen would have heaved a sigh of relief knowing he is going to retire now," Saqlain, also a champion off-spinner of his time, said.

Power struggle in PCB shows no signs of abating with former captain Javed Miandad lashing out at PCB chairman Ijaj Butt, alleging that the Board is out to destroy the career of Younus Khan. Miandad, also the PCB director-general cricket, said in an interview that he was fed up with the prevailing situation in the board where Butt was running a one-man show. "How can I keep quiet when wrong decisions are being taken, when the board is bent upon wasting the career of a player like  Younus Khan ,  when the Chairman listens to no one?" he asked.

Mystery bowler Ajantha Mendis has been left out of the Sri Lanka squad for the three-Test series against India which gets under way on July 18. Sri Lanka named retiring spinner Muttiah Muralitharan  as the vice captain and brought back seamer Lasith Malinga  for the first Test against India starting on July 18 at Galle. Muralitharan will be Kumar Sangakkara's deputy in the Galle Test before he quits the longer version of the game.

Waqar Younis says he is confident that fast bowler Mohammad Asif is ready for Pakistan's hectic Test match schedule over the next two months. Pakistan play Australia twice and England four times in the space of seven weeks and 27-year-old  Asif is expected to be a key member of their pace attack. The first Test against Australia starts at Lord's on Tuesday, and Asif warmed up with 17 overs in four short spells against Leicestershire at Grace Road on the first day of a two-day match.

Right on the heels of the official announcement from Hulu that Hulu Plus is real, came the down-right depressing news that PlayStation 3 owners would be forced with a decision: want that Season Ticket for all your favorite shows? Then sign up for PSN+ — no ifs, ands, or buts about it. It may have not been a big deal to everyone, but there’s always a few people out there that don’t want to pay extra for something they’re already going to have to pay for. Well, thanks to Hulu proper, we’ve got confirmation that everything isn’t as it seems. First, though: you are going to need a subscription to PSN+ if you want to get access to Hulu Plus. But, that doesn’t mean it’s a permanent feature. In fact, Hulu wants to clarify the situation. Apparently, you will only need to have the subscription to PSN+ if you want to get in on the early access, or the preview period. After that though, Hulu is going to just charge their $9.99, and you should be able to access it just fine on your PS3 without a

One of the little nuggets of joy that was missing from this year’s E3, was the announcement from Microsoft about their bi-annual Xbox 360 software update. Sure, they managed to announce a new Xbox 360, but nothing about the software front. Well, if you managed to get your hands on one of the new consoles from Redmond, then you should be happy in knowing that an update is right around the corner. While we all wait for Hulu Plus to make its way to the 360, we’ll have to just be happy with whatever Microsoft is cooking up natively. That’s where Destination Arcade comes in. Right now, navigating through the Arcade section of LIVE can be somewhat tedious, with all those lists and what not. But not anymore. The new design is full of aesthetically-pleasing things. Not only does it just look slicker, the interface itself seems just that more advanced. And, if you ask us, aimed for navigating with Kinect. Features wise, you’ll be able to find your next Arcade download via the visual browser. N

The weekend’s suspected iTunes fraud has culminated in an official statement from Apple themselves, together with confirmation that the developer believed to be responsible for the scam has been ejected from the App Store. According to Apple’s statement, users who believe their credit cards have been incorrectly charged should take the matter up with their bank; they insist that no developer ever sees “confidential customer data” by which we’re presuming they mean card details or iTunes passwords. The scam was spotted when several iTunes users noticed their credit cards had been billed with numerous app downloads, generally consisting of various low-cost titles and then one or two expensive purchases. Meanwhile in-app purchases were also used. At the time, it was theorised that developer Thuat Nguyen was using compromised iTunes accounts to drive his apps up in the download charts; however some users also reported other titles being bought. Apple say Thuat Nguyen has been ejected f

An all-devices jailbreak that will liberate the iPhone 4 from its Apple lock and permit the installation of unofficial third-party software – among other things – has been promised as imminent by one of the iPhone Dev Team, who has confirmed that the group’s next release will address the fourth-generation smartphone. MuscleNerdrevealed that the next jailbreak app will work in a similar way to Spirit, addressing all devices, all bootroms and the latest official Apple firmware, with a “painless install”. The exact timescale of the next jailbreak hasn’t been confirmed, but it seems to be going hand-in-hand with an unlock solution for the iPhone 4. While Apple are selling unlocked versions of the smartphone in Europe, in the US the iPhone is locked to AT&T’s network. So far the team have managed to inject cmd but they now need to keep that task running in the background persistently.

Tempted by a compact clamshell MID? If you’ve been waiting to get your hands onto the Viliv N5 then the moment to flex that plastic is almost upon you; importer Dynamism open their virtual shop doors at 1pm EST today for their N5 preorder event, with prices kicking off at $649. That gets you a 4.8-inch touchscreen, Intel Atom Z520 1.3GHz processor, 1GB of RAM and a 32GB SSD. There’s also a version with an integrated HSPA modem (that goes along with the standard WiFi b/g, Bluetooth 2.0+EDR and GPS) that’s $799. Each has a 1.3-megapixel camera, USB port, microSD card slot, microphone and stereo speakers, and a tipped battery life of up to 6hrs active runtime. Niche, certainly, but this dinky PC will likely make some mobile warriors very happy indeed.

Huawei’s S7 Android tablet – slotting neatly in-between the Dell Streak and the Apple iPad – has been previewed briefly ahead of its launch in the UK later this month, and we have to say the coverage leaves us in two minds about the 7-inch slate. For a start, the capacitive touchscreen we’ve seen before was replaced by a resistive panel in the preproduction units tested (as by Zol.com.cn) and Onliner.by aren’t too keen on how the custom UI has been left more appropriate for either screen size or touch-technology. Meanwhile battery life is tipped at around 12hrs standby (with wireless connected) or approximately 100 minutes of active use; that’s certainly on the low side. Build quality is reportedly high, with decent speakers and 720p HD video playback support. Of course, back when we first heard about the S7 we were told capacitive wouldn’t likely show up until production-ready units, so we’re crossing our fingers that that’s the case. We’ve been talking with UK retailers and have

In mid-June we caught wind of the new Sony CECH-ZVS1 virtual surround sound bar for the PS3. The system is designed to give the PS3 better sound for gaming and movies while being easy to set up and taking up little space. When we first saw that sound bar the closest we had to a launch date was a vague “this fall” promise from Sony for the US. Fans of the sound bar in Japan have a firm launch date to look forward to. The device is set to launch in Japan on September 30 for 19,800 yen. In case you forget, the device has Sony virtual surround sound tech called S-force PRO Front Surround. It supports Dolby Digital, DTS, AAC, and Linear PCM formats. The front speaker units are 50 x 90mm and the sub is a 65mm diameter unit. The price in the US is pegged at $199.

I like the iPhone 4 as much as the next geek, but when you start putting diamonds on a phone you will probably loose or break at some point, it’s a bit much for me. Stuart Hughes has a long history of blinging out gadgets. Not too long ago the iPad got the Hughes treatment with gold and diamonds. The new Hughes iPhone 4 is a bargain next to that $190,000 iPad. The iPhone 4 goes for $20,000 and has 6.5 carats of VVS quality, F-color diamonds on the metal band between the screens. Only 50 of these crazy expensive smartphones will be made. The Apple logo on the rear of the phone is made from platinum and diamonds. If I were rich and lacking in taste enough to buy this thing, I would worry about it constantly.

Russian company Rover Computers has just outed a five model tablet/MID range, and judging by some of the designs we’re guessing there’s a whole lot of rebadging being done. The various RoverPad models span 5- to 7-inches in screen size and run either Android or Windows CE; processors include basic Samsung, Marvell and RockChip ARM CPUs, together with NVIDIA’s Tegra on the RoverPad TegA W70. The TegA W70 actually looks to be a rebadge of the Compal Tegra tablet NVIDIA have showed a few times – you can see it in their official slides here – while the other models appear to be reference designs and OEM hardware onto which Rover Computers have slapped their logos. Because of that there’s little consistency across the range, with various builds of Android showing up (from 1.5 to 2.1). The smallest tablet is the RoverPad Go G50, with a 5-inch WVGA touchscreen, Marvell PXA303 CPU, 128MB of RAM, 2GB storage and Android 1.5. It has WiFi, GPS and 3G, along with a microSD card slot and USB co

Nokia has announced that it has sold its modem business to Renesas Electronics . The two companies will also form a strategic alliance for the continued development of modem technology. Renesas will acquire Nokia’s HSPA, GSM and LTE modem business. Nokia is selling the modem portion of its business for about $200 million and the two companies plan to collaborate on future radio technologies. Nokia says that the sale will allow it to focus more on its core business categories. Renesas has been licensing the Nokia modem tech since 2009 and the two firms have been working together on HSPA+/LTE modems already. The sale of the business is subject to regulatory approvals and other closing conditions and is expected to be closed in Q4 2010.

Back in February we gazed with wide-eyed amazement at the GuruPlug Server Plus , a compact SheevaPlug-style embedded computer that managed to squeeze dual gigabit ethernet, eSATA and more into a wall-wart sized box. Unfortunately, all that squeezing may have left the end result a little less than perfect; owner Willy Tarreau got in touch to let us know that his GuruPlug turned out to be not only running buggy software but, more worryingly, poorly and perhaps even dangerously constructed. The software refused to connect via the ethernet interface, and then when finally working underperformed compared to similar processors to the Marvell 1.2GHz chip at the heart of the GuruPlug. Meanwhile, the unit got painfully hot to the touch, which Tarreau narrowed down to insufficient cooling for the CPU. Internal wires, too, were of poor quality and quickly snapped. Now, Tarreau’s GuruPlug did show signs of having been tinkered with internally – the power supply has had its warranty sticker broke

Logitech’s Revue Google TV box has cleared the FCC, with a new filing from the company’s OEM partner Gigabyte. Wireless Goodness spotted the new listing, which also includes some internal shots [pdf link] of the Revue’s hardware; unsurprisingly, it all looks much like a regular nettop inside, with an Intel Atom Z515 1.2GHz processor doing all the major crunching. There’s also 4GB of memory – made up of an array of eight Micron chips – together with WiFi and HDMI connectivity. Unlike most set-top boxes (STB) the Revue won’t be silent in operation; there’s a large extractor fan for cooling the Atom’s heatsink. Interestingly, the mainboard found inside the Logitech Revue – marked the Gigabyte GA-SBKAN2 – shares the same name as another Gigabyte IP-STB board spotted early last month by SemiAccurate, though the component layout is different and the earlier board has three USB 2.0 ports rather than the Revue’s two. Gigabyte had been showing the board as part of a white-box IP-STB solutio

It’s not just a white PS3 and a chunkier hard drive that Sony Japan are promising today; they’re also spilling some details on the PlayStation Move launch including the awesome retro ray-gun “shooting attachment” we saw at E3. Two bundles have been announced for Japan, set for release on October 21st 2010, one with a single Move wand, PlayStation Eye camera and a copy of Bio Hazard 5 Alternative Edition , and another that throws in a ray-gun shooting attachment and replaces the title with Big 3 Gun Shooting . Big 3 Gun Shooting is described as a “gun game value pack” and includes three titles: Time Crisis Razing Storm, Dead Storm Pirates and Time Crisis 4 Arcade Version. For a limited time, people buying a Move controller will also get a demo disk of game samples, which Sony are calling the “PlayStation Move Omnibus Demo Disk”. The “PlayStation Move Bio Hazard 5 Alternative Edition Special Pack” and “PlayStation Move BIG 3 GUN SHOOTING Perfect Pack” will be priced at 7,980 yen ($91)

Serious Sam HD : The Second Encounter will be free for all to play this weekend, Croteam announced today. The game will be available at a reduced rate on Steam and will be free to download and play for the duration of the weekend. From July 8 through July 11, Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter will be free to play for all Steam users, as well as available to buy for 50% off. If you didn’t grab it in the Summer Sale, this weekend is your chance- and they’re even letting you try before you buy. “This is total bullshit,” said Fork Parker, Chief Financial Officer at Devolver Digital. “How are we supposed to make any money by giving away our sweet multiplayer juice for free?” Serious Sam HD: The Second Encounter will also be discounted by 50% during the promotion. Seriously. Half off a game that already costs less than $20. That’s $10 sucka. “Goddamnit,” replied Fork when asked for further comment. Yes, this was really part of the press release. I think for that reason alone you shou

What kid didn’t want to be an astronaut at some point growing up? NASA sets out to bring that dream to life with Moonbase Alpha , on online multiplayer game the Space Agency has developed and released on the Steam network. The game starts off with a fictional base on the south pole of the moon (you guessed it, named Moonbase Alpha). The base is damaged by an incoming meteorite in the opening cinematic, and it is your job to fix it. You and your friends, that is. Players must repair solar panels and restore the flow of oxygen to the base before it runs out, which as any seasoned space adventurer knows, would result in your death. The first thing that hit me on booting the game up was the high production value of the game. The graphics are pretty impressive; it’s pretty easy to believe that you’re walking on the surface of another planet. The colors are vibrant, the textures are detailed, and the models are complicated. This is definitely not a B-list game, NASA didn’t go halfway wit

You know what platformer I cannot stand? Castle-fucking-vania. Now don’t get me wrong- it’s entertaining. The games are usually fun when you get the hang of it, and even though many of them feel indistinguishable, Castlevania developers have done a great job of working in the genre. But that’s not why I can’t stand the series. I can’t stand it because it’s as hard as a fucking steel sack of bricks. I have literally never beaten a Castlevania game, despite my many attempts to do so, and I’m starting to think that I am just bad at video games because I can’t do it. I either get stuck, or can’t jump over a certain spot, or outrun a wall that’s closing down on me or something. As a matter of fact, more often than not, I end up shutting down the console (or handheld) in a fury, proclaiming that I will never ever play another game in the series because I have the unreasonable expectation of being able to beat it. But I am done, damn it! I am not picking up another Castlevania game until m

A new trailer for Rock Band 3 has been found deep in the crevices of the internet, and shows us the first footage of Pro mode in motion. It also confirms the ability to import tracks from all previous Rock Band games, including LEGO Rock Band. Some new songs have also been revealed:  Chicago ‘s 25 to 6,  Faith No More ‘s Midlife Crisis,  INXS ‘ Need You Tonight, and  Blood, Sweat and Tears ‘ Spinning Wheel. I am a big fan of Midlife Crisis, the other not so much. Still Rock Band has a habit of making me enjoy songs I didn’t previously. As you can see, the Pro mode looks like it could be exactly what fans have been pining for. The note charts look very accurate to me, although perhaps someone with a better eye for that sort of thing could confirm or deny this. Let us know what you think in the comments. Do so now before you shred your fingertips trying to play Green Grass and High Tides on Pro mode.

If you’re anything like me, you like a nice clean interface that lets you get right to what you what with as little time as possible. If you’re anything like me, you know that is next to impossible on the Xbox LIVE Arcade due to the abundance of games, tabs and content. Well Microsoft has clicked onto that and are releasing something titled “Destination Arcade”. Announced by Larry Hyrb  and from July 14th it will be easier than ever to navigate the 250 game strong Xbox LIVE Arcade as the titles are sorted into easy to use categories. Want to know the Deal of the Week, but not have to flick through a few tabs? Well now it will be displayed front and center. Interested but not in America? Check out the screenshots below.