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New Delhi: Forecasting the outcome of the 2010 Football World Cup is not just the favourite past-time of a certain 'psyhic' Octopus Paul at the German Aquarium in Oberhausen, Germany.

Mani the Parakeet in faraway Singapore has jumped on the bandwagon as well and has predicted about 72 hours in advance that the Netherlands will be crowned champions of this edition.

The 13-year-old long-tailed parrot, who is an 'assistant' to a roadside astrologer of Indian origin, Muniyappan had reportedly earlier also predicted the outcome of the Spain-Germany semifinal and all the quarter-final ties, but only came into prominence once it picked a card with the Netherlands flag well ahead of any other prediction for the final.

Meanwhile, Paul's handlers announced on Thursday that the octopus will first predict the outcome of the third-place playoff game between Germany and Uruguay that is to be held on Saturday night before forecasting the outcome of the title game.

Channel News Asia reports that people are seeking Mani's help to place their bets on the game. Muniyapan's business too has seen an upswing and he was quoted as saying that he now gets about 10 customers in an hour compared to the 10 he would get on a regular day.

Fans will obviously take sides when Spain and Holland clash for the ultimate prize in world football on Sunday, but what will be interesting to see is whether the animal kingdom is united on who they pick as their champion.

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