Frankly, anyone who doesn't enjoy the World Cup probably isn't really a citizen of the world, since it's by far the most popular sporting event on the planet!

You're right to guess that there are lots of fun hidden "easter eggs" in the search engines around the World Cup too. For example, Google World Cup and it'll show you the latest scores, even if they're depressing:

if you're logged in to your own Google account, you can also Add World Cup scores to your Google home page, which is definitely cool too.

Yahoo's search team has a weblog of their own, and on the Yahoo Search Blog there's a funny article they wrote explaining some of their hidden FIFA World Cup search terms: GOOOOAAAAL! Read it to learn that if you preface searches with "FIFA" you can get all sorts of great results.

For example, find out when the USA's next game is being played by searching for FIFA USA, in which case it'll show you:

Google's results might be a bit easier to read, but Yahoo definitely has an edge on how much information is shown, which isn't a surprise since Yahoo! is the host of the official FIFA World Cup 2006 Web site!

Of course, Google's paying attention too. Look what happens when I Google FIFA USA:

Curiously similar results, eh? :-)

Microsoft isn't joining in the fun, however. A search on MSN for FIFA USA reveals just the regular old boring search results (heck, the #1 match is for the FIFA Women's World Cup 2003!)

Oh well, I guess we can be comfortable knowing that both Google and Yahoo! are paying attention to this splendid sporting event for the next thirty days, and kudos to both of them for their efforts.

Now, off to watch a replay of the USA / Czech Republic game!