This summer's World Cup will boost sales of new flat-panel TV technology in Europe and around the world, analysts and industry insiders believe. 

The increase in demand is expected briefly to halt a slide in basic component prices and push manufacturers' costs up. But consumers will probably not pay more, because TV vendors are fighting to establish their brands in the new market for big, flat screens.

Makers of large LCD and plasma display panels in South Korea, Japan and Taiwan are all expected to benefit from significantly increased sales.

"TV panel prices should decline only slightly in first half of 2006 thanks to special demand from the 2006 World Cup tournament in Germany in June," said analyst Jeff Kim of Hyundai Securities in Korea. 

Jasmine Wei, a research analyst at MasterLink Securities in Taiwan, added: "The strongest demand lies in TV panels due to aggressive retail price cuts and the expected demand from the Winter Olympics and World Cup soccer." 

Historical evidence also indicates that sales could increase dramatically, particularly in the host country.

"The 2002 World Cup proved to be a powerful driving force behind sales of TVs in Europe and Asia," reported German-based market research firm GfK Group. 

"Sales in Europe increased by five per cent compared with the previous year while sales in Asia rose by an average of 16 per cent."