The world's first snail race on the internet was broadcast live yesterday.

The race, organised by the UK's largest interactive betting service, Blue Square, was inspired by the Guinness advert which featured snail racing.

Ed Pownall, spokesman for Blue Square, said: "We did have the problem of how to get them going somewhere without wandering off and we tried lettuce to entice them."

The race featured six randomly-picked snails who climbed a 427mm pole to reach the finish with each snail colour-coded.

For betting purposes each snail received odds of 4/1.

www.bluesq.com