Playball WBSC and Softball WBSC have both been launched by the global governing body.

WBSC President Riccardo Fraccari described the release of the two gaming apps as a "major milestone" for the organisation as it aims to make baseball and softball "more appealing and accessible to wider sectors of society".

Both mobile games, which can be downloaded from major online stores, including Apple and Android, allow gamers to select a national team and compete in WBSC events.

Online tournaments include the Baseball World Cups for under-12s, under-15s, under-18s and under-23s as well as under-15, under-18 and women's Softball World Cups.

The first events are the Under-12 Baseball World Cup and Under-15 Women's Softball World Cup which are due to start on September 1 and close on October 1.

Users can play against the computer for free or face other players around the world in an online game, with two points going to the winner.

Those with the highest number of points are crowned the tournament winners and are eligible to win prize money before the top-ranked performers participate in a final series on-site at a WBSC event.

"The launch of these gaming apps represent a major milestone for the WBSC in its mission to grow baseball and softball globally by making it more appealing and accessible to wider sectors of society, especially young people," said Fraccari.

Each user receives two complimentary tickets, which are required to play online games.

Every online game played costs one ticket, and users can purchase more tickets at the price of $0.99 (£0.84/€0.99) for two additional tickets.

According to the WBSC, a percentage of the proceeds from the games will be delivered to the National Federation where the user account of a player is registered.