Sky Sports and on board info (owners of Infuzer) have launched a new service that will enable fans to track the progress of the World Cup via their electronic calendars and PDAs.

Fans will be able to download the complete fixture list for any team or group to their electronic calendar, which will be automatically updated throughout the World Cup, with match scores and revised team standings.

As the tournament unfolds, team pairings for the later rounds will be automatically incorporated into the calendar, with links to appropriate Web pages for detailed match reports and other such information.

The cost of the service, which launches on May 2nd, is a one-off payment of £3 and will be available from PlanetFootball (www.planetfootball.com), Infuzer (www.infuzer.com) and other participating Web sites.

Stuart Turner, Business Development Manager at Sky Sports Online, said: "Infuzer technology allows us to offer the modern-day football fan an 'electronic wall chart' of the World Cup, enabling them to track the progress of their favourite teams and the competition as a whole via their electronic calendar. The beauty of technology is that it allows us to update the 'chart' automatically for the fans, providing them with detailed match results and next round pairings immediately the match ends."

Ray Eitel-Porter, CEO of on board info, added: "Research shows that the vast majority of office workers now use electronic calendars or PDAs and that 58% of them consult their electronic calendar more than 5 times a day . For sports fans there is therefore no better way to track the World Cup competition than to see it unfold effortlessly in their calendar."

About on board info

on board info specialises in enabling Web site and email marketers to communicate with their customers via PC and PDA-based electronic calendars. The company's core product is Infuzer, a one-click service that enables users to download date related information - events, deadlines, special offer periods - from Web sites and emails, directly into their electronic calendars

on board info was founded in 1996 by Ray Eitel-Porter, where he spearheaded the company from its head office in London, UK. Since 1996 the company has expanded and saw the opening of a US office in 2000 in New York. The company is funded by venture capital from a consortium including Nat West IT Fund (now managed by Royal Bank Ventures), Cambridge Research and Innovation Ltd. and Interregnum (www.interregnum.com).

Further information about Infuzer can be found at http://www.infuzer.com

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