IT'S being hailed as the world's biggest quiz - and it's coming to a pub near you.

Thousands of general knowledge experts will visit their local today to take part in a nationwide contest that aims to bring the pub industry together and raise money for good causes.

The two-hour event is due to start at 7.30pm, when teams across the country will simultaneously try to answer the same 60 questions.

Devised by PubAid and supported by Just Giving - the world's leading online fundraising platform - the evening aims to collect cash for hundreds of charities.

Organisers are also hoping to smash the world record for the largest multi-venue quiz.

More than 1,300 pubs, clubs and bars in the UK are taking part, including at least 30 in Hampshire.

Watering holes across the county are raising funds for a raft of good causes, including Age Concern, Riding for the Disabled and Macmillan Cancer Support.

Hampshire and Isle of Wight Air Ambulance, Countess Mountbatten Hospice and the Special Baby Care Unit in Southampton are also set to benefit.

One of the pubs taking part is the Wheel Inn at Sway Road, Pennington.

Landlord Pete Walters said: "I've got five or six teams so far but I'm hoping to end up with eight on the night.

"The questions were e-mailed to me at the end of last month and I've had to keep them hidden away."

Other Hampshire pubs taking part include two owned by the same couple. The Trusty Servant at Minstead and the Royal Oak at Hilltop, near Beaulieu, are run by Debbie Lewis and her husband Duane.

Debbie said: "It's a fun event with a purpose - raising money for charity.

"It's going to be great to have pubs across the country all answering the same questions at the same time. I think we're in for a wonderful evening."

PubAid is an organisation created to celebrate the fundraising success of UK pubs, which raise more than £100 million for charity each year.

So far more than 1,300 watering holes have signed-up for the event, with teams pledging to collect cash for at least 700 good causes.

The mass quiz has also attracted the support of MPs, with 20 of them pledging to act as a quizmaster on the night.

PubAid co-founder Keith Knowles said: “We're delighted that so many pubs have registered to take part and there’s still time for others to join.

“I’m sure we can beat the record but our aim is for each pub to use the evening as a way of raising money for charity and spreading the word about the great work pubs do for charity."

Anne-Marie Huby, managing director of JustGiving, added: “The British pub is an institution that's perfectly placed to galvanise communities to do good.”