South Korea's World Cup squad has been using a specially built "thin-air" lounge to acclimatise for South Africa while Japan has given each team member an oxygen tank.

Asian teams are taking seriously the need to get a head for heights before beginning their campaign in a country where altitude will be a key factor.

The South Korean room, which is at the national football training centre at Paju north of Seoul, looks like a regular lounge equipped with couches, bookshelves and DVD players.

But a rectangular metal box in the wall, which might pass for an air conditioner, is what makes the room special. Low-oxygen air is funnelled through the duct by a huge machine worth 130,000 dollars imported from the Netherlands.

"It looks like an air conditioner but it can adjust oxygen levels at a simple touch," Korea Football Association spokesman Lee Won-Jae told AFP.

"While reading books or watching football video footage, players can acclimatise to a low-oxygen environment."

High altitude is likely to play a crucial role in South Africa where five of the nine host cities are more than 1,000 metres above sea level.

Balls can also fly faster and further because of the thin air, a potential nightmare for goalkeepers and defenders.

"We wanted to acclimatise a bit even before we got to South Africa," Lee added.

Team doctor Song Joon-Seop said the device could create thin-air conditions similar to heights of up to 5,000 meters.

"By spending just one hour a day, the players can quickly adjust to altitude," Song said.

Japan is equally concerned about getting ready for the World Cup conditions, with coach Takeshi Okada ordering all 23 Blue Samurai be given "low-oxygen tanks".

He has told them to get used to inhaling thin air from them.

"I want them to use them for one or two hours every day at home. For example, they can use them while watching TV," Okada said.

"I hear the All Blacks in rugby use them. I am also considering asking the players to use them while riding a bicycle."

South Korea had their own experience of high altitude when they were routed by Zambia 4-2 and held to a 0-0 draw by South African club Platinum Stars in January friendlies in Johannesburg, which is at 1,750 metres.

"Players were unable to keep their balance, probably because of the high altitude," coach Huh Jung-Moo said after the matches. Many players said they felt their feet were leaden.

In a graphic example of the effects of altitude, giants Argentina were thrashed by Bolivia 6-1 in April last year.

The Argentine squad had never played in the Bolivian capital La Paz, which is 3,600 metres above sea level, and arrived only two hours before kick-off.

In a further bid to get accustomed to altitude, the South Koreans have selected the Austrian winter sports centre of Innsbruck, located in a valley between high mountains, for their final training camp.

Japan will train in the Swiss mountain resort of Saas Fee at an altitude of 1,800 metres.

South Korea and Japan are not alone in making special preparations for South Africa.

Media reports say England's players are set to sleep in special tents which simulate conditions at an altitude of 1,750 metres.

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