Global soccer appeal to help find missing UK girl

LONDON, May 19 (Reuters) Around 500 million soccer supporters worldwide are expected to watch an appeal today to find a missing British girl who was abducted more than two weeks ago while on holiday in Portugal.

A two-minute video of four-year-old Madeleine McCann will be shown at the English FA Cup Final between Manchester United and Chelsea.

The global audience for the match, the first major soccer game to be held at London's new Wembley stadium is expected to be watched by a global audience of about 500 million, newspapers said.

The short film, set to the soundtrack of the Simple Minds hit ''Don't You Forget About Me'', was earlier screened at the UEFA Cup final between Sevilla and Espanyol in Glasgow on Wednesday.

The search for the youngster has received widespread media attention all over the world.

Soccer stars -- including Britain's David Beckham and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo -- have made appeals for the youngster, while wealthy individuals, such as the author of the popular Harry Potter books, JK Rowling, have offered large rewards for information leading to her return.

A Web site set up to help find the girl -- who disappeared on May 3 from the bedroom of a holiday villa as her parents dined nearby -- has received more than 75 million hits.

But the appeal has also spawned a string of bogus sites, as tricksters try to cash in from donations, newspaper reports said.

So far, one suspect has been identified by police -- a 33-year-old who lives in the area -- but his name has not been made public and he has not been charged.

REUTERS AGL KP1558