World Cup websites of the week: Fantasy football

Getting excited yet?

Throughout the World Cup we'll be bringing you reviews of some of the best, and worst, sites that the web has to offer. In this instalment we look at the top online fantasy football games. SvensReunited.co.uk
From the people who brought you Friends Reunited comes this excuse to use a truly awful pun on the England manager's name. The registration process is simple - and free - and from logging on and selecting your team to logging off again should only take a minute or two at the most. This is partly because you'll have little idea what it's all about. The rules and the scoring are unnecessarily convoluted (and well hidden) but as with many fantasy football games, just select the teams and the players who you think will do best from the options provided and you shouldn't be too far wide of the mark - providing you know your stuff. The prize is £1,000 cash for the top-scoring manager. Some way short of Sven's own win bonus, but better than a poke in the eye with a broken metatarsal.
http://www.svensreunited.co.uk BBC Fantasy Golden Boot
A simpler idea from the BBC and one which should prove popular in offices around the UK. Pick seven strikers who you think will be scoring for fun at this summer's World Cup and rank them one to seven. Your number one will score you seven points for every goal, and your number seven will score you one point - easy. Registration is simple and again is free. You can also set up your own mini leagues within a league with your mates or colleagues - leaving the BBC to look after the headache of totting up your points. Inter-office gloating potential is massive and the prizes aren't too shabby either.
http://bbcworldcup.fantasyleague.co.uk Telegraph Fantasy Football
A classic from the Telegraph team which proves the old adage: 'If it ain't broke don't fix it'. Pick 11 players with a budget of millions. This is the formula for almost all fantasy football games and with the drop down menus and all the adding up done for you it couldn't be simpler. The registration process is a little long-winded but it's all forgiven in return for the game - which is far and away the pick of the three... if you are prepared to pay £5 - a fact not made clear until you have already selected your team and started getting excited about how you're going to spend the massive £50,000 first prize. But if you are confident the purse will be yours then you really shouldn't flinch at a fiver.
http://www.worldcup.telegraph.co.uk If you've found any invaluable resources on the web for following this summer's World Cup, then drop us a line at editorial@silicon.com and let us know.