Two in five Brits (42 per cent) plan to watch the World Cup at work this summer, with 7 per cent of those planning to do so aimng to watch matches on their phone. 33 per cent will use streaming sites such as BBC iPlayer or internet radio to catch the games.

The figures come from a survey carried out by Opinium Research on behalf of moneysupermarket.com. The research firm surveyed 2,017 UK adults online between 30 April and 4 May, 2010. The survey also found that 365,000 Brits plan to pretend they have a meeting and go to the pub to watch the match, while 122,000 men plan to call in sick, and around 487,000 fans are planning to take holiday during the tournament to watch as much of it as they can.

“A significant number of people plan to get online to watch the tournament which will put a lot of strain on the office network and internet speeds. It may pay for some offices to at least screen the England games on a TV for their staff,” says Mike Wilson, manager of mobiles and broadband at moneysupermarket.com. “Those that are planning to tune in on their smartphone need to make sure they are streaming games through a wi-fi connection. Watching through the operators 3G network could easily drive you over your download limit and result in some hefty bills when the World Cup is over.”