Fifa president Gianni Infantino hopes the 2018 World Cup in Russia will be the first tournament where video referees help officials with "game-changing" decisions.
In March, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) said it would test technology over a two-year period to help with goals, red cards, mistaken identities and penalties.
That was set to start no later than the 2017-18 season but Infantino said testing would "start now and will take two years".
The Swiss, who succeeded Sepp Blatter as boss of world football's governing body in February, added: "This means that by March 2018 we will see if it works or not.
"I really hope that the World Cup in Russia will be the first World Cup where video refereeing is used to make refereeing maybe better."
In the experiments, a video assistant referee will have access to video replays during matches and will either review an incident on request or communicate with the referee proactively about an incident that may have been missed by the officials on the field of play.
On a visit to Moscow, Infantino also said he had received assurances from the Russian government that the economic crisis engulfing the country would not affect preparations for the 2018 tournament.
In March, the International Football Association Board (IFAB) said it would test technology over a two-year period to help with goals, red cards, mistaken identities and penalties.
That was set to start no later than the 2017-18 season but Infantino said testing would "start now and will take two years".
The Swiss, who succeeded Sepp Blatter as boss of world football's governing body in February, added: "This means that by March 2018 we will see if it works or not.
"I really hope that the World Cup in Russia will be the first World Cup where video refereeing is used to make refereeing maybe better."
In the experiments, a video assistant referee will have access to video replays during matches and will either review an incident on request or communicate with the referee proactively about an incident that may have been missed by the officials on the field of play.
On a visit to Moscow, Infantino also said he had received assurances from the Russian government that the economic crisis engulfing the country would not affect preparations for the 2018 tournament.
