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A giant New Zealand rugby ball will host the draw for the 2011 Rugby World Cup on December 1, the chief executive of the tournament organisers said on Friday.

The New Zealand Tourism 'ball', which is 12 metres tall and 25 metres long, will be stationed next to London's Tower Bridge from November 25 until December 2 this year.

The ball was used by Tourism New Zealand as part of a marketing campaign in Paris during last year's World Cup, where it was positioned near the Eiffel Tower and received more than 24,000 visitors.

"It makes sense (for the draw to be held in the ball)," Rugby New Zealand 2011 chief executive Martin Snedden told a function at New Zealand's Parliament Buildings on Friday.

"A lot of the northern and southern hemisphere teams are gathered together at that stage to play games against each other, so if you like the elite of the rugby fraternity are there to support this event."

FIVE TEAMS

Snedden said the draw would have 20 teams divided into four pools of five teams based on the International Rugby Board's (IRB) rankings.

"For the first time at a World Cup the seedings and pools will be constructed around the IRB's world rankings," Snedden said.

The cut-off date will be midnight on November 30, which is just after the All Blacks play England at Twickenham.

"I think this is something that is new and has an air of unpredictability about it will create excitement amongst the international rugby media."

New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark said the ball would be a great opportunity to showcase New Zealand as a tourism destination and the 2011 World Cup.

"From the reaction we got from Paris last year, the ball is a great way for a small country to get a reaction," Clark said.

"Estimates show that around 138 million people either saw or heard about the ball and its connection with New Zealand and that is invaluable exposure for our country."

Clark said the 2011 World Cup was estimated to bring in NZ$500 million (190 million pounds) to the New Zealand economy, with about half of it being spent in the largest city of Auckland, which is hosting both semi-finals and the final.

(Source: Reuters)