It has since grown in to a multi-billion dollar event, watched by a global TV audience of tens of millions, and which provides fertile hunting ground for scouts searching for the next African superstar.

CNN: African Cup of Nations shows glimpse of football's future

"A big proportion of the infections we saw were coming from people who had actually gone out searching for the virus because they wanted to see Anna Kournikova, " says David Perry, global director of education for Trend Micro.

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