Vuvuzela apps top the iTunes charts

If World Cup tournament organizers in South Africa ban vuvuzelas — the plastic trumpets that produce a sound like a swarm of angry bees — football fans can download a variety of apps that will replicate the sound.

There are 11 vuvuzela apps in Apple's App Store. Vuvuzela 2010 has been downloaded more than a million times, while Virtual Vuvuzela is the seventh most popular free sports app. There are also vuvuzela apps for mobile phones running Google's Android operating system.

In the UK, the BBC has received thousands of complaints from viewers about the constant background noise produced by the vuvuzela, while fans are frustrated at their singing being drowned out. Several Facebook groups are demanding that the vuvuzela be banned, while other groups demand the right to continue playing vuvuzelas at World Cup games.

Rich Mkhondo, chief communications officer for FIFA in South Africa, said vuvuzelas "characterized" the continent's first World Cup. "Vuvuzelas are here to stay and will never be banned," he told The Telegraph. "It's part of our culture, so embrace it," he said. Sepp Blatter, president of FIFA, agrees. "I have always said that Africa has a different rhythm, a different sound," he said in a Twitter update.