Soccer world cup to be broadcast live online

British soccer fans will be able to watch World Cup action free over the Internet thanks to a deal unveiled by the BBC on Thursday.

British soccer fans will be able to watch World Cup action free over the Internet thanks to a deal unveiled by the BBC on Thursday that could serve to distract office workers around the United Kingdom.

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"We know a lot of online viewing is done in the office, so we suspect this will allow people both to do their job and to keep up with the very latest action from Germany," said Roger Mosey, the BBC's director of sport.

Many of the first-round matches, which start June 9, kick off at 2 pm or 3 pm. British time.

The World Cup is the most watched sporting event in the world and is expected to draw record audiences this year after suffering the last time around when the tournament was played in Korea, making it difficult for European and North American fans to tune in live because of the time difference.

The public broadcaster declined to comment on how much it paid for the broadband rights in the deal with Infront Sports and Media, which oversees worldwide sales of the month-long tournament's broadcast rights.