In China, the failure of the country's national soccer team to qualify for the World Cup finals has done little to dampen the enthusiasm of millions of football fans for the tournament which starts next week.

World Cup fever is spreading fast, with special supplements filling the shops and reports of university students renting televisions to watch the matches in their dormitories.

Many of the matches kick off at 3am local time, but according to a front-page article in the Workers Daily newspaper, bars and restaurants in many big cities - perhaps inspired by popular enthusiasm for the 1996 European Championships - are promoting late-night viewing sessions, or alternatively, World Cup breakfasts for early risers.

Although China has no direct interest of its own after a shock home defeat to Qatar, much excitement was generated by the inclusion of Beijing Guo'an striker, Jorge Luis Campos, last season's Chinese Player of the Year, in the Paraguay squad.

Nevertheless, a commentary in the Workers Daily predicted family strife, saying many men would always choose the tournament in preference to their wives or girlfriends.

It said the latter could at least console themselves that their men had not run off with other women, but they would still find themselves World Cup widows.

In other households, it said the men would have to wait meekly for a month while their partners fell in love with the Brazilian star Ronaldo; and where both men and women were football fans, it said they might fall out over which team to support.