I would like to wish everyone a warm welcome to the official website of the FIVB Volleyball World Championships Japan 2006.

Between now and the opening day of the women's tournament on October 31, the official website will be a key component in the success of the World Championships.

As you can see, the site already contains lots of useful information, such as the history of the FIVB World Championships, the results of the qualifying tournaments and the draw for Japan 2006, and details of the 10 host cities around Japan.

Over the coming weeks and months, the site intends to expand its content by bringing news and views from the qualifying teams, player profiles, interviews and lots more.

The aim is to make the official website the daily meeting place for players, coaches, officials and fans around the world to follow the exciting build-up to this year's World Championships.

I urge and encourage the national federations of the qualified teams to support the official website, thereby spreading your news around the volleyball world.

Enjoy the official website of the FIVB Volleyball World Championships Japan 2006 -- and please come back again!

On behalf of the Japan Volleyball Association, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the official website of the FIVB Volleyball World Championships Japan 2006.

I can promise you that the World Championships will meet your expectations, and hopefully even succeed them, whether you are a player, a coach, an official, a member of the media or a fan.

We plan to look after all of you, and make your stay in Japan a happy and successful one.

Over the course of the women's and men's World Championships, 208 top-quality games of volleyball will be played at 12 venues in 10 of our beautiful cities, from Sapporo in the north to Fukuoka in the south.

You will be made welcome in every city, all of which have their distinctive Japanese characteristics, and we hope this will contribute to an unforgettable experience.

The World Championships are growing in stature with every edition, and this time a record 170 teams from the FIVB's five continental federations competed for the 44 places available in the women's and men's competitions.

There were 75 women's teams chasing 22 places, along with hosts Japan and defending champions Italy, and 95 in the men's competition fighting to join Japan and the 2002 world champions, Brazil.

To ensure a smooth World Championships, we, the JVA, have been working very closely with the FIVB, host broadcaster TBS and, of course, with the Organising Committee in Tokyo, and we will not rest or be satisfied until the last point of the last match has been played on December 3.

Between now and the start of the women's World Championships on October 31, the official website will keep you up to date with news from home and abroad as teams prepare their challenge for honours.

We are sure you will find the official website a big help if you are planning to visit Japan for the World Championships, and we will endeavour to provide the most up-to-date information as the countdown continues.

Welcome to Japan -- and to the 2006 Volleyball World Championships!

Volleyball is a fascinating sport to watch, both on the court and on television. It is a magnificent display of the mental, tactical and physical prowess of the human potential.

At the FIVB Volleyball World Championships Japan 2006, Tokyo Broadcasting System will be covering all 208 matches with the latest digital television production equipment.

We hope to devise new and innovative techniques of volleyball coverage that will enhance the viewing experience for fans worldwide.

Setting the stage for an exciting World Championships is a process that takes time, creativity and effort during the lead-up period to the tournament. As a broadcaster, we are achieving this task in the way we know best -- through television programming.

In the autumn of 2004 we created a programme called "SekaiVolley.TV" ("sekai" is Japanese for "world"), a series of eight specialised one-hour shows providing detailed news of the qualification tournaments and featuring the performances of star players and teams, both domestic and international. This programme, targeted towards existing avid volleyball fans, was just the first phase of the lead-up programming to the World Championships.

In the second phase, starting in April 2006, we will upgrade the programme to become a weekly show that targets a wider audience. The objective of this show will be to attract new fans to the sport -- those who may have enjoyed playing volleyball during their youth, or who simply enjoy watching the sport.

In the third stage we will focus on broadcasting short promotional segments on a daily basis, as well as devoting more time to volleyball coverage in the regular TBS sports news programmes. Here, the objective will be to nurture enthusiasm among the masses.

As the World Championships draw near, we will have special programmes on a daily basis to "warm up" viewers for the impending action.

Finally, during the World Championships, we plan to engulf the islands of Japan in a frenzy of volleyball excitement, with more than 40 hours of prime-time volleyball coverage on the air during a six-week period between October 30 and December 3.

Excitement is mounting in all corners of the globe. The countdown has started...to the greatest tournament on earth.