A part of local culture

Mkhondo said the horns were part of the local culture and he said they were also being used by fans from other countries -- a view backed up by the enormous extra demand seen by vuvuzela outlets across South Africa.

"It seems like the bad publicity has been good for us," said Brandon Bernado, owner of the vuvuzela.co.za website and a factory he said could churn out at least 10,000 of the instruments every day.

"We're completely sold out. Every time we manufacture more, the next morning by nine we're sold out," he said.

The vuvuzela industry is worth 50 million rand ($6.45 million) in South Africa and Europe, according to Cape Town-based Neil van Schalkwyk, who developed the vuvuzela seven years ago.

Image: Officials feel vuvuzela are typical of SA football