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BBC considers vuvuzela ban

"It's one option we are considering at the moment," said a BBC spokeswoman, adding that 545 complaints had been received about the ear-splitting noise which has become the unofficial World Cup soundtrack.

An iPhone application that mimics the blasting of the African trumpet, however, has been downloaded more than a million times.

Ironically, the app was designed by a Dutch duo. The Dutch have been the most vociferous in their disdain for the cacophonous horn, with coach Bert van Marwijk banning them from his team's training sessions and Dutch striker Robin van Persie blaming vuvuzelas on his inability to hear a referee's whistle.

"It's the Vuvuzela jackpot," said Jeroen Retrae, co-designer of the iVuvuzela.

The iVuvuzela app can produced about 90 decibels of noise on Apple's iPhone, iPod Touch or iPad, while the real horn belts out more than 130 decibels.

"But you can always hook your iPhone up to an amplifier," said partner Lyan van Furth.

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