The New York Times has linked from its website to a Zinedine Zidane head-butt video carried on YouTube.

As part of the publication's World Cup multimedia coverage the link is contained in a blog titled 'Who Is Marco Materazzi? And How Did He Get Zidane to Blow Up Like That?'.

Both The New York Times and Youtube stated that the link was not part of an official deal - according to MediaPost - rather a pragmatic editorial decision.

The clip, which shows French captain Zidane being sent off after head-butting Italian defender Marco Materazzi during the World Cup Final, was posted by a French user on YouTube within an hour of being aired on French television.

Within 24 hours it had been watched more than a million times, MediaPost claimed.

The New York Times decision to link to YouTube marks a growing acceptance by mainstream media organisations of the importance of the video hosting site, even though it has only been in existence for little over a year-and-a-half.

Last week Disney ran adverts on the site and US broadcaster NBC has also made an agreement with YouTube to distribute videos.

Interest in the incident remains high as Zidane was named player of the tournament and speculation remains about what Materazzi said to the French captain to provoke the attack.

British tabloid The Sun today claimed that a lip-reader had told them that Zidane delivered the attack in response to a 'vile slur' made by the Italian player on his ill mother Malika.

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