Euro 2004: Watch footie on your desktop

Sports fans not content with blanket coverage of Euro 2004 in the newspapers and on television this summer are going to be able to get a footie fix from their desktop with plans to screen highlights packages on the official tournament website.

So if you can't wait until the official DVD to come out to relive a David Beckham thirty-yarder or a Michael Owen hat-trick against France (we can hope) then you can log on to your PC and relive the glory - all while looking like you're hard at work at your desk.

David Farrelly, new media editor-in-chief at European football's governing body Uefa, said he believes the service will be complementary to live TV coverage, radio and Uefa's own audio stream. He doesn't expect it to compete with those channels, though he hopes it may appeal to some people who can't watch the games live.

"This is a great opportunity to bring highlights to internet users," said Farrelly. "We think it will appeal to people who are stuck in the office and can't watch the games, but also we think it will be popular with people who want to relive some of the best moments from a game they've watched live the night before."

"If England beat France, for example, we'd hope to see an increase in subscribers as people sign up to relive that David Beckham goal."

The highlights packages will be online to watch within around half an hour of the final whistle and will be available in seven languages - English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish.

However, many observers may note an apparent missed opportunity to cash in on the huge market for European football in the Far East by offering the service in Chinese, Japanese and Thai.

But Farrelly explained that Uefa will be offering similar packages in those regions in association with companies such as NTT in Japan and Tom.com in China. The separate European deal is being run in partnership with Real.