SOME 1.5 billion people worldwide are expected to watch Germany face Costa Rica on television in the opening match of soccer's World Cup, German public broadcaster ZDF said.

"Football fans in 200 countries will be able to watch the game in Munich live," ZDF sports director Dieter Gruschwitz said, referring to Friday's opener.

Bookmakers, bars and restaurants across soccer-mad Asia are preparing for a bonanza month as hundreds of millions of fans count down the hours to the World Cup kick-off Friday.

From Dhaka to Seoul giant screens were erected in public squares, bars decked out with flags of the 32 competing nations, and TV stations predicted accumulated viewer numbers of well over 10 billion during the month long event.

In Japan, advertising agency Dentsu estimates the World Cup will generate sales of food and beverages worth US$367 million, ranging from beer at bars to orders of pizza and new TVs to watch games at home.

"Our total sales (of TVs and other goods) doubled last weekend compared with the same time last year," said Hidenori Tsutsumi, a spokesman at one of Japan's largest electronics retailers, Bic Camera.

In Australia, where the Socceroos have made the finals for the first time in 32 years, the Australian Hotels' Association said interest in the tournament was at record levels.

"There's always huge interest here because there's so many people from so many different backgrounds living in the country," the association's national affairs director Bill Healey told AFP.

"But this time, Australia's actually at the party for the first time in a generation and everyone has gone football crazy," he said.

Bars in some states have been given permission to open late because the time difference with Germany means many matches will be played in the early hours.

Bar owners in Thailand's capital Bangkok have no such permission, but many plan to defy local laws that require them to close at 2 a.m.

In Hong Kong some firms are allowing flexible working hours for employees during the tournament, with one shop permitting staff to start work an hour and a half later than normal, local press reported.

Customers watch matches as they eat and drink with friends, turning popular nightlife districts into impromptu street parties.

In China alone, state broadcaster CCTV estimates accumulated viewing figures of 10 billion for the tournament.

Editor: Wing