Papers urge British athletes on ... with sideburns

LONDON - Host Britain has been urged to get behind its team as hopes for its first gold medal at the Olympics turn to something bordering on desperation.

After winning an impressive 19 gold medals in Beijing in 2008, pundits were confidently predicting an even bigger haul on home turf. But defeat has followed defeat and the country is getting twitchy.

Both the Sun and Mirror tabloids, which dominate the daily "red-top" newspaper market, have given readers free cut-out sideburns, a joking reference to Tour de France hero Bradley Wiggins, favourite to win the cycling time trial on Wednesday.

"Here Wiggo!" screamed the Mirror's headline, and the Sun rumbled in with "Going for Wiggold".

There could be two more golds in the rowing - the women's pair and men's eight - and if all come good, the country will breathe a sigh of relief.

While the home nation sweats, arguably its greatest sporting rival Australia is having fun at its expense.

The Herald Sun newspaper features a picture of Borat, Sacha Baron Cohen's fictional Kazakh journalist character, pointing out not-so-gently that Kazakhstan already has three golds to Britain's zero.

"After four days of competition at the London Olympics the Brits have failed to win a single gold medal," the newspaper writes with barely disguised glee.

"It's a sad and sorry state of affairs. Except that we're neither sad nor sorry."