John Blau

The World Cup soccer tournament taking place in Germany is not only the planet's largest sporting event; during the four weeks of play through July 9, it's also home to what many experts say is the world's biggest communications network built for a single event.

Germany is using the World Cup games to show that the country hasn't only produced some clever soccer players like the iconic Franz Beckenbauer, but also some brilliant minds including Albert Einstein.

Germany, it appears, can't get enough soccer these days. With one World Cup tournament already under way, another is scheduled to begin Wednesday -- with robots instead of human beings kicking away to score goals. The Robot World Cup, or RoboCup, will open its gates from June 9 to July 9 in Bremen, Germany.

As fans from around the globe pour into Germany for the World Cup soccer tournament, which begins today, security experts from German government agencies and international police groups will be glued to their computer screens evaluating thousands of messages generated daily by security authorities on the ground.

As fans from around the globe pour into Germany for the World Cup soccer tournament, which begins today, security experts from German government agencies and international police groups will be glued to their computer screens.

World Cup soccer fans should be aware of a new worm being circulated by e-mail with the German-language message "WM-Tickets" or "Weltmeisterschaft," security vendor Sophos PLC warned.

Equipment manufacturer Cisco Systems Inc. and IT service provider T-Systems International GmbH will collaborate in developing smart-tag systems for the logistics and retail sectors, the companies said.

Germany's Federal Office for Information Security (BSI) will present several new open source-based desktop and security applications on Wednesday at a local Linux event.