The Milk Cup could be beamed to a potential audience of 1.3 billion people this summer.

In a significant and exciting development, China has agreed to compete in the Elite tournament.

It’s a major breakthrough for the event organisers and what a massive door it could open for tourism here.

Milk Cup chairman Victor Leonard reveals that both China’s opening games in the competition will be broadcast live across the People’s Republic.

“We are working on the details of that but it looks likely to happen and means we are opening up Northern Ireland to a massive audience.

“We are a sporting event but determined to show off the Province and our event as the ideal visitor destination for people from that part of the world.”

It is the first time the Chinese have come on board at this level and significantly gives the event the potential to enhance its reputation in the Far East.

Victor adds: “We have enjoyed welcoming several club sides from China over the years and it is something of a feather in our cap to have been successful in attracting an entry from the national association.

“China’s stature in world football has been rising over the past number of years and football is hugely popular. There is an extraordinary appetite for the game there.”

Around 300 million people tuned into broadcasts of China's World Cup 2002 matches with a staggering 170 million new television sets bought by citizens in order to watch their nation's first World Cup appearance.

There were over 250 million viewers for the 2004 Asian Cup final, the largest single-event sports audience in the country's history.

Victor hopes China will also attract support here from members of Northern Ireland’s large Chinese community.”

Already confirmed for the six-team Elite tournament are Northern Ireland, Denmark and Mexico.

Dr Mike Johnston, Chief Executive of the tournament sponsors the Dairy Council for Northern Ireland, says:“The involvement of China in this year’s Milk Cup has added significance for us since a number of Northern Ireland dairy companies are actively building business in China.”

Dr Johnston also emphasises the importance of the Milk Cup in encouraging consumption of milk and dairy products in Northern Ireland.

“We have secured funding from the EU to encourage younger age groups to drink milk, and this sponsorship of the Milk Cup is part of that wider campaign.  The EU funding will allow us to develop our involvement in the Milk Cup in the range of activities we’ll be undertaking through this new campaign, which we’re calling Milk in Action.”

The draw for this year’s three competitions takes place at W5 in the Odyssey, Belfast, on Tuesday, May 11, with the tournament kicking off on Monday, July 26, after a welcome parade of 54 teams through Coleraine to the Showgrounds the previous evening.

Ulster looks set to be well represented when Ireland kick off this year's RBS Six Nations against Italy on 6th February.

Andrew Trimble, Tom Court, Nigel Brady, Declan Fitzpatrick, Dan Tuohy and Tommy Bowe are still involved in the race for selection and were appearing at the Guinness Press Conference ahead of a final week of intense match preparation.

Many experts see the six players as key to Ireland's potential success this year. Their selections were no surprise given the recent form of a resurgent Ulster which has saw them climbing up the League.

Last year was a huge year for Irish Rugby, in addition to their sensational Grand Slam win, the country's first in 61 years, Declan Kidney's team went undefeated throughout the year, defeating current world champions an South Africa in November's Guinness Series.

Despite deciding against a return to Irish soil, Tommy Bowe is still a popular choice for Kidney. The 25 year old Ulsterman looks set to start next Saturday, building on a career that has gone from strength to strength in the last 12 months.

Speaking at the Guinness Press Conference Tommy said: "I'm really excited about next week's game against Italy and it's great to be back in camp with Ireland. There is the added pressure of being defending champions this year and it's important we get off to a good start in the competition. The majority of the squad are coming off very successful European campaigns and we're hoping to bring that confidence into the RBS Six Nations Tournament."

Playing this weekend with Ireland 'A', Ulster skipper Rory Best has made a remarkable recovery from a potentially career ending injury and could be in contention for the latter stages of this year's tournament. He said: "I'm delighted to have made a return to playing ahead of schedule and owe a debt of gratitude to Ulster and Ireland's medical and strength and conditioning teams. It's great to be back in the Irish team environment preparing for the RBS Six Nations, hopefully I get the chance to make a contribution on the pitch at some point during the campaign."

Closing the press conference, Stuart Kinch, Guinness Brand Manager, said: "This year's tournament is a very special one for us and gives us a great opportunity to show our support for the Irish team. We're a very proud supporter of Irish Rugby and last year's Grand Slam has left us all keen to see a repeat this year.

"As part of this support we have launched a new rugby campaign called AREA 22 to inspire fans to get behind the Irish team. The Guinness Area 22 website enables fans to engage with Irish rugby like never before by providing them with the latest team stats, live rugby feeds, and status updates from players from within the Irish Camp including Tommy Bowe, Jerry Flannery and Jamie Heaslip, as well as innovative Facebook and iPhone apps.