ABBA, IKEA and now Sven - three Swedish exports that the English people have taken to their hearts.

Creating a combination that must be every marketing man's dream, England football coach Sven-Goran Eriksson arrived in town to kick off operations at Ericsson's brand new research and development centre in Chineham.

With the draw for the group stages of the World Cup just days away, you would imagine that Mr Eriksson's mind might be on other things.

But decked out in a smart pin-stripe suit and trademark spectacles, the Swede captivated the company's workforce with the studious manner and smooth talk that have seen him win over even the most xenophobic of England supporters.

Describing the new £16 million mobile phone firm's facility as a "beautiful place", talk in the media scrum quickly turned to football and, in particular, this weekend's draw.

Eriksson said: "It will be very interesting, but in sport you must be lucky.

"If you ask many people, they will say that Argentina and France are the favourites for the World Cup, so to avoid them would be good, but there are many dangerous teams."

After England's 5-1 win over Germany in September, there was talk in some corners of Eriksson being awarded an honorary knighthood. However, the Swede shrugged off such suggestions with a sly grin.

He said: "I don't think that I'm going to be called 'Sir' just because we have qualified for the World Cup. You have to do something more difficult to earn that, but we will see what happens in the summer."

The race is on for a place in Sven's World Cup squad and players are busting a gut to put their name in the frame for next year's competition in Japan and South Korea.

But when offered the chance to check out the Basingstoke Town talent on show at The Camrose, Eriksson a familiar face at all the Premiership grounds replied diplomatically: "We will have to see".

See the Gazette Business section of Friday's Gazette for more pictures from Sven's visit to Basingstoke.