David Beckham signed by Yahoo

Yahoo has signed David Beckham as its first "global sports ambassador" to front an international ad campaign ahead of the World Cup and provide exclusive content.

The campaign, which kicks off in more than 20 countries tomorrow, is the latest extension of the $100m brand marketing push unveiled by Yahoo last September as part of a fightback against rivals including Google.

Beckham, initially signed to work with Yahoo until September, will start appearing in a major ad campaign. He is currently in South Africa with the England team in a non-playing role.

In the UK it will use poster sites, the London Underground and newspapers including Metro and London Evening Standard, but does not include TV commercials.

Beckham will also provide a range of exclusive content to Yahoo during the World Cup. None of it, however, will be delivered live, meaning no views on England games or wider performances; Yahoo said it had all been developed in advance of the tournament.

Yahoo will feature a David Beckham online channel where he will share experiences of playing in three World Cups.

After the World Cup he will start to deliver rolling content, including a weekly video and a number of chat sessions with users of Yahoo services such as messenger and Yahoo Answers.

"Yahoo has a true personal relationship with its users and is an online leader in sports content across the globe," said Beckham.

"Yahoo will allow me to interact one-on-one with as many football fans as possible talking about the game I love."

In April, Yahoo signed a deal to show highlights of the English Premier League online for the next three seasons, 2010-13.

Yesterday it announced a major social-media integration programme, including a tie-in with Facebook.

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