World Cup briefs: Sudden death for 'Uncle Rooney'

An Englishman living in Bremen in northwestern Germany who has been posing as the uncle of Wayne Rooney and giving interviews to the press, has been outed as an imposter.

The bilingual academic claimed that his name was Martin Rooney and that he was the younger brother of the England striker's mother.

He become a favourite with the German media by providing insights like: "My nephew has always been really stubborn."

But the game was up when one reporter finally inquired why the man would have the same surname as his married sister.

Ribery inspires rap group

Franck Ribery's emergence as a midfield star for France has inspired a new rap song from French group Rag Street. The duo of Egal-G and Dom-Arri both hail from the same town of Boulogne-sur-Mer on the Channel coast where Ribery is idolised.

"All of Boulogne is fully behind Franck Ribery," said Egal-G.

"He is a great example for youngsters, especially from the tough areas. He started from the bottom of the pile and now he is at the summits."

The song got its first public airing on Sunday before thousands watched the France v Brazil quarter-final on giant screens set up in Boulogne. France won 1-0.

Soccer pitch in draw

A German scientist has created the world's smallest soccer pitch - so minute that 20,000 of them could fit on to the tip of a human hair.

The imitation playing field, created by using nanotechnology, measures 500 by 380 nanometres and can only be seen through a high-powered microscope, said creator Stefan Trellenkamp, whose country is hosting the 2006 World Cup.

"I am really, really proud," said the nanotechnology researcher from the University of Kaiserslautern.

"The only problem is that I really don't know what to do with it. I can't put it on show as no one can see it.

"I guess it'll just stay in my drawer for the time being."

Trellenkamp said it took him a day to engrave the lines of a soccer pitch with an electron beam on to a tiny piece of acrylic glass.

A nanometre is a billionth of a metre.

No Portugal in storm

England fans seeking solace from their World Cup woe are shunning Portugal as a holiday destination after the national squad knocked England out of the tournament.

"Last week, Portugal was our fourth most-searched destination - but since Saturday it's fallen down to 15th place," said John Bevan from online travel agent Lastminute.com.

"We expect interest will bounce back but at the moment the loss is still a bit raw. But we hope that English holidaymakers don't boycott the Algarve for long as a result of the match."