And now... news from the land like no other

Sri Lanka's tourism authorities are using the World Cup to attract visitors to the country. They are using 30 students at Caribbean venues to hold placards, traditional masks and balloons to catch the attention of television cameras.

Advertising is strictly limited to official ICC sponsors but tourism officials have found ways to circumvent the restrictions. "The placards carry various slogans all centered around our promotional theme 'Sri Lanka, a land like no other'," Sri Lanka Tourism Chairman Renton de Alwis told AFP. A placard showing Lasith Malinga's bleached-blond hairdo with the legend "a lad like no other" is being placed next to Sri Lankan masks and it is hoped that spectators or TV viewers reading the placard will associate it with the Sri Lanka tourism tag line.

"The exposure we have had during the World Cup is simply priceless for the country's image. The team's success has generated enormous awareness about the country. It's a shot in the arm for us," said Alwis. "Hopefully, our cheer squads and creative visual material will attract more cricket fans to Sri Lanka when England tours the island in October."

Sri Lanka's tourism has suffered badly since December 2005 when the island saw an escalation in violence between Tamil Tigers and the goverment. In the three months to March this year, some 134,600 foreign tourists visited the island, a 15.6 percent drop over the same period in 2006, according to official figures. March was the worst, with authorities reporting just 35,031 visitors, a 36.0 percent drop over the same month a year earlier.