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Manchester United could have the most futuristic stadium the world has seen – with a village on the roof.

Architects have drafted plans to improve the atmosphere at Old Trafford.

Among them is a 'sound cloud', a lid to keep the noise in the ground, while another suggests cramming ticketless fans in the roof.

The team of architects which designed the new Wembley stadium are behind the unique plans for the 'theatre of dreams'.

They suggest using 'reflective materials' in a mesh that hangs across the whole stadium to literally keep a lid on the atmosphere.

A fanzone for up to 20,000 supporters without tickets could be built into the roof of Old Trafford for supporters before and after the game , according to the architects.

"It becomes the engine room for the atmosphere in that seating bowl. As it gets noisier, everyone gets noisier. It's natural amplification," said architect Christopher Lee, who has designed 30 stadia around the world.

His company Populous was asked by technology magazine Wired to redesign the Theatre of Dreams to create a better matchday atmosphere.

The sound cloud and other suggested modifications were 'very feasible', he said, adding: "Nothing we're talking about here is prohibitively expensive."

Among the other suggestions is a 'fanzone' outside Old Trafford which neighbours Manchester City have already developed outside the Etihad.

Inside the ground, technology could be used to harness the movement of the crowd.

So-called 'piezoelectric rockers' would capture energy every time someone steps on one and this could be used to heat the seats, according to Mr Lee.

Huge double-sided LED screens inside the ground could keep fans updated while LED lighting woven into the pitch could be used to trace the movement of the players.

"It's about bringing the information that you get at home into a three-dimensional arena," said Australia-born Lee.

The ground could be fitted with 'turbo Wi-Fi' to allow supporters to order drinks and interact with others in the crowd on social networking websites.

Outside the ground Old Trafford could be illuminated by a huge facade made up of LED lights which could be used to play live video.

Architects have already created such a facade at a stadium in Kazakhstan.

In April United, which have no connection with the Populous plans, brought in an acoustic engineer to improve the atmosphere.