CHELYABINSK, June 19 (RIA Novosti) - Two Emu chicks played a game of football on Friday at a zoo in the Russian Urals city of Chelyabinsk, a zoo keeper told RIA Novosti.

The chicks, aged two months, were given several soft shiny balls to kick around, to mark Children's Football Day.

"The emu chicks demonstrated virtuosic ball handling for such an early age," Yelena Chudakova said.

The birds enjoy playing with the balls, as they are "attracted by anything shiny," she said. The match passed without injuries, but a female journalist standing too close got pecked.

The emu is the world's second-largest living bird after the ostrich. The birds can reach up to two meters in height and around 60 kilograms in weight. Their maximum running speed is around 50 km/h (30 mph).