Zurich, Sep 25 (DPA) FIFA's legal affairs division has teamed up with international authorities to monitor the internet in an effort to combat illegal offers of tickets for the 2010 World Cup.

'Unscrupulous individuals are taking advantage of the great appeal of this event by trying to use the internet to sell tickets they do not possess,' said FIFA in a statement Friday.

Football's ruling body and its ticket handling partner MATCH warned consumers about any unauthorised ticket sales and the risk of purchasing fake tickets, which would result in the buyers not being able to access the stadium.

One of the measures put in place to to prevent forgery is to print the official match tickets only a few weeks before the event, which takes place in South Africa June 11 to July 11.