Have you ever wondered what it would be like to play in a FIFA World Cup game, with all the pressure and the fans cheering? HongKong’s Cyberport just found a way to make it happen.

Well, not quite, but close. Cyberport has just successfully completed its testing for live 3D broadcasting of 2010 FIFA World Cup football matches in Hong Kong. With the help of state-of-the-art equipment and facilities, Cyberport has inched its way to becoming the global pioneer to reach this “goal”.

Golden Harvest, a film production and distribution company, and Panorama, an entertainment program provider, were major players in this project. Cyberport took care of the technical aspects, such as receiving satellite signals and converting these using DCX streaming technology, while Panorama secured the broadcasting license from FIFA.  All the live 3D testing was done in Cyberport and Golden Harvest facilities.

As stated by Herman Lam, CEO of Cyberport, “This also opens up new opportunities for cinemas and distributors in Hong Kong to offer more 3D content, such as sports events and concerts.”

Imagine being a meter away from Spain’s David Villa. Imagine running up and down the field as players pass each other the ball. Imagine being behind the goalkeeper during a free-kick. It’ll make football fans more passionately involved when they root their hearts out for their teams. It’s only a matter of time till we’re close to fully experiencing in-game soccer action with 3D technology.

This will definitely make World Cup fans scream louder than a Lady Gaga concert.

You have to hand it to Nike, they make exercising exciting even for geeks and bring high-tech to the usually low-tech.

The Nike+ SportBand give runners real-time performance feedback on their distance, pace, time and calories burned with just a glance at their wrist. Runners who enjoy listening to music may continue to hear their run details through the Apple iPod nano, iTouch or iPhone systems. The Nike+ SportBand will be available now with a suggested retail price of HK$500.

It just doesn’t stop there, at nikeplus.com they’ve added many new features and social media opportunities including:

• Personalization: The new navigational system includes a customizable homepage for members providing at-a-glance views of your training, progress in goals and challenges, and your Nike+ Mini. Now runners can personalize every run to illustrate their mood, weather, terrain, route and more.

• Find Your Friends: Runners will now be able to search for like-minded and similarly-skilled runners, accept new friend requests and initiate challenges in conjunction with their favorite social media platforms. And because no good run should go unpublished, runners can broadcast their own successes beyond Nike+, with automatic updates to Facebook status, Twitter feeds and much more.

• New Shoe Finder: This feature asks runners to answer a few simple questions in order to receive a customized shoe recommendation based on the latest shoe technology.

Facebook and Twittering during our morning jog? Is this too much? Usually we jog to get away from the computers and just take an iPod Shuffle for the tunes. But there might be some of you out there who need to stay in touch more and it looks like Nike’s got you covered.

The User Guide is here so you can test your tech competency level and a Stuff review here.

Get ready to rumble for June’s Planet Battle kickboxing tournament.

If you’re tired of beating up virtual monsters, come out and see real monsters beat the living crap out of others at Planet Battle.

Coming to Wan Chai’s Queen Elizabeth Stadium on June 4th at 7pm are top international and local kickboxers ready to show you some amazing martial arts action. Tickets are $200, $450 and $800 for VIP and you can get them at Cityline.

We’re excited to see Bob “The Beast” Sapp live in Hong Kong, well at least from a distance, this guy is a scary 6′ 4″ and 150 kg, an ex-NFL player, ex-professional wrestler and now MMA juggernaut.

Not sold yet? Have a look at this video from the last Planet Battle! Wow they even have girls fighting!

EDIT 5/27: Slightly revised information as the organizers have informed us that Bob Sapp isn’t the main attraction for this event but will be for the September/October event where he will fight. It’s still all good fighting in Wan Chai, the difference from a typical night in Wan Chai is these guys aren’t drunk and they’re professionals.

Reebok is famous for its functional and trendy style. The newly invented HexRide Smoothfit Run collection is developed specially for runners, since the number of marathon runners are increasing every year. The shoes are designed with a honeycomb structure. The complete cushioning makes super comfort with enhanced stability. Simply try them on if you have doubts.

Under the “HexRide Satisfaction Guarantee Program”, from 6 March to 30 April 09, who are not satisfied with the HexRide running shoes they bought within 30 days can receive a cash coupon covering the full value of the purchase price.

How much?

• HK$449-$729

Where to buy?

• Reebok Hong Kong Stores

• Shop OT 271, 2/F, Ocean Terminal, Harbour City, Tsim Sha Tsui (Tel: 2736-7010)
• 4/F, Sogo Department Store, Causeway Bay (Tel: 2831-8580)
• 2/F, Sogo Department Store, Tsim Sha Tsui (Tel: 3556-1166)
• G/F Shop 103 Metroplaza, Kwai Fong (Tel: 2480-3908)

And other sports shoes outlets:

• Marathon (selected stores)
• GigaSports (selected stores)
• Sportshouse (selected stores)
• Royal Sporting House (selected stores)
• Fulvo (selected stores)
• Apex (selected stores)
• Wan Kee Group (selected stores)
• Jusco (selected stores)

A FIFA based card came comes to PS3 and Xbox in March.

Electronic Arts announced the development of a unique, downloadable game mode called FIFA 09 Ultimate Team that will deliver a strategic new online experience to the award-winning EA SPORTS FIFA 09 on the PS3  and Xbox 360. FIFA 09 Ultimate Team challenges gamers to collect or create the most talented football players in the world, develop them into a dream team and then compete online against a legion of challengers to be crowned the ultimate team.

FIFA 09 Ultimate Team challenges you to collect 30 different types of bronze, silver and gold virtual cards, including Player, Staff, Contract, Formations, and Tactics, to create your fantasy team. Strategically select or trade for the right Manager, then choose the best Tactics and Formations that forge the team chemistry necessary to take your club to the top. Plus, deal Gameplay cards on your opponent at key moments of any match for a tactical advantage.

“Online is the next great frontier in sports gaming. We are seeing a record number of individuals globally playing FIFA 09 online so we are focused on developing games that maximize the online experience,” said Andrew Wilson, Vice President & Executive Producer for the franchise. “A dedicated team developed FIFA 09 Ultimate Team and they have created a game within the game, delivering a strategic new way to play FIFA 09 that will create hundreds of additional hours of playing time.”

Over 141 million games of FIFA 09 have been played online since the game’s European launch on Sept. 25, 2008. An average of 1.25 million games are played online daily, which is a 321 percent increase over FIFA 08.  FIFA 09 Ultimate Team expands the FIFA 09 online experience by delivering the ultimate fantasy in club football to the record number of individuals playing while connected online.

Live the ultimate dream in FIFA 09 Ultimate Team. Create yourself in game, line up alongside your heroes and captain your squad to glory. Customize everything from players and stadiums to the kits and badges, creating the world’s next great football club. Compete offline and online to earn more valuable cards or trawl the market for the ones needed to complete a winning team. Climb the league table or compete in knockout tournaments for the most coveted trophies, where the opposition becomes more difficult after each victory.

Fans will be able to experience the new game mode by creating a team with a starter package of players and virtual cards and play a five game trial before deciding to purchase the FIFA 09 Ultimate Team mode. FIFA 09 is required.

For more information about FIFA 09 Ultimate Team visit http://www.fifa09.ea.com.

FIFA 09 Ultimate Team, scheduled for worldwide release on March 19, is developed by EA Canada in Vancouver, B.C. It is rated “E” for everyone by the ESRB and 3+ by PEGI.

The wait is over! All your favorite American games that you’ve wanted to watch will be brought to you by NowTV on Channel 680. The All Sports Network is a 24 hour sports channel to all those who have been wanting to watch football and hockey.

ASN will air 35 live games in a week out of which at least four will be National Football League (NFL) and five will be National Hockey League (NHL). There will be pre- and post-games analysis, news reviews, updates, highlights, and magazine shows for those who take sports seriously. The other games will include NCCA college basketball and football, March Madness, and the motor sports including Touring car, Extreme Sports, Pro Bull Riding, and many more.

You can get all of this for only HK$80 a month. Those already subscribing with Existing Mega Sports Pack get a discounted rate of HK$40 per month.

In its effort to promote its sports gear and sports related activity Fila celebrated its 35th Anniversary in sports and fashion. Shifting venue for the first time from its headquarters in Italy to Hong Kong, the event has been a collaborative approach with Global Wallpaper and Instituto Marangoni Limited Edition.

This high profile event saw the turnout of all the invitees to J-01 Specialty Store at Paterson Street Causeway Bay, on Wednesday, November 12th 2008.

FILA’s 35th Anniversary celebration saw its endeavor to create a new collection with reputed style signature Wallpaper and Milan’s famous fashion school Instituto Marangoni to create a global limited edition collection of high-end sports gear. The highlight of this colossal event was the introduction to the retro vintage collection. In a gesture to pay tribute to all the sought after timeless pieces this collection exhibited some replicated pieces from 1970s. Adding to the classy collection is 1970’s original Matchday and BBI polo which were specifically designed for FILA’s yesteryear tennis icon Bjorn Borg.

FILA’s latest collection is sold exclusively in J-01 specialty store in Hong Kong right now. Go get a glimpse of these authentic pieces and treat yourself to a classy FILA wear.

If you have a NowTV account, you can enter this competition (with a deadline of today) that allows you a chance to win tickets to watch all the action LIVE at Macau Grand Prix.  The final deciding round of the WTCC FIA World Touring Car Championship will be held there and broadcast live on Eurosport (Ch.676) on 16 November.

All you have to do is click here to enter – fast and easy so don’t miss out as today’s the last day.

The Venetian Macao Tennis Showdown 2008 as all tennis fans are aware is happening on November 20th and will feature tennis legends Bjorn Borg and John McEnroe with Roger Federer and James Blake. Die-hard fans have already book their seats here but the Four Seasons Hotel Macau has just sent us a nice package deal you might be interested in:

• Luxurious accommodation
• Daily breakfast for two in Belcanção
• “A” Reserve tickets for two at the Venetian Arena
• Roundtrip Cotai Jet (Cotai Class) Ferry Tickets Hong Kong – Macau – Hong Kong
• Complimentary scheduled shuttle service from Pac On Ferry Terminal
• Deluxe Room: HK$5,300 for the night of November 20th.

For more information please call (853) 2881-8881 or email directly at: reservations.mac@fourseasons.com

To get to get you in the mood, here is a clip from Wimbledon 1980 with McEnroe vs. Borg match – dare we say that seeing them together in Macau together is like seeing Led Zeppelin in concert again?