Prince William, Beckham and Yao Ming

Prince William, Beckham and Yao Ming

Britain's Prince William will join forces with David Beckham today (09.06.14) to launch a new wildlife campaign.

The Duke of Cambridge and the former soccer star want to use the power of sport to combat illegal trade in wildlife products.

William, president of United for Wildlife, will kick off the #WhoseSideAreYouOn campaign which will ask the next generation to chose between critically endangered species and those who kill them for money.

It is hoped the "#WhoseSideAreYouOn" debate will gather pace on social networking sites including Twitter and Facebook and in the run up to the launch, William and his brother Prince Harry posed for a photograph for the campaign's Twitter page holding placards with the start date "9th June 2014" and their own signature.

Beckham, who worked closely with the Duke on England's World Cup bid and attended his wedding to Duchess Catherine, heads a team of sporting stars backing the campaign including Wimbledon champion Andy Murray, India's former batsman Rahul Dravid and retired South African rugby captain Francois Pienaar.

William and Beckham have already recorded two video campaigns against illegal wildlife products for WildAid.

Beckham said at the time: ''When I learned of the current poaching levels in Africa, I immediately agreed to help get this message out."