In a bid to deter jailbreaks during the 2002 World Cup, Thai prisons will allow inmates to watch the matches on television, officials said.

　　Thailand has also decided to let prisoners own personal radios and audio tape players.

　　``These recreational activities will stop prisoners from thinking of breaking out from our understaffed and overcrowded jails,'' Siva Saengmanee, head of Thailand's Department of Corrections, told reporters.

　　``They will be allowed to watch recorded games in the early evening because live telecasts would stir gambling.''

　　France will play the opening match of the World Cup finals on May 31 in Seoul and the final will take place on June 30 at Yokohama in Japan.

　　Thailand has 137 prisons nationwide, many of which are filled to three times their intended capacity. The country has seen several jailbreaks this year in which inmates have been killed.

　　(Agencies)