Cahill has joined the ranks of Kaka as the face of Sony's Bravia televisions in the new deal just announced.

It comes despite the vindictive campaign against Cahill in the local Sydney paper after Australia qualified for the 2010 World Cup.

But Sony said they were not put off by Cahill's recent coverage and were just delighted with his key role in taking Australia to South Africa next year.

"What I worry about is Tim's performance on the pitch, and to be honest with you, he's performed very well," said Sony product manager Jan Ergen. "That's what's really been the reason we've brought him on board as a spokesperson for Bravia.

"Even going by his last performance in a World Cup Qualifier, where Australia made it through to the World Cup, he scored two goals down at the MCG, so in terms of his performance, we've been very happy."

He added: "Tim Cahill being such a strong performing Aussie, which we're all very proud of on the soccer pitch, I think it's a very good tie-in, and he will act as a very good spokesperson."

Cahill is the local face of the Sony Bravia Z5500 "...which has second generation Motionflow 200Hz," said Ergen. "We believe it's an improvement on the smoothest picture ever and it's definitely the best TV for the sports lover."

In a press release to mark the launch, Cahill was quoted as saying: "You need the speed of Motionflow 200Hz to really capture the fast-paced action of the World Cup in 2010.

"Make sure you have the world's fastest TV in your lounge room so you don't miss any of the winning goals or action of the Aussies in this first-class contest."