Following the international sensation of questionable musical value that was the vuvuzela - the multi-coloured two-foot long plastic horn that became such a hit with football fans at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa that they were subsequently banned - the caxirola has been unveiled as the aural stimulant of choice at next year’s tournament in Brazil.

This time the instrument, which has been created in a collaboration between the Brazilian musician Carlinhos Brown and the country’s ministry of sports, has been carefully designed to sound considerably less grating.

Unlike the vuvuzela, which has historical cultural significance in South Africa, the caxirola has been designed especially for use in stadiums.

A yellow and green percussion instrument which makes a rattling sound when shaken, it makes a sound not dissimilar to the traditional South American "rainstick".

Made from recycled plastic, the noisy implement will be handed to fans attending the Confederations Cup in June, the country’s unofficial dress rehearsal for the 2014 World Cup.

The President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, said: "It is an object that has the ability to do two things: to combine the image with sound and take us to our goals."