This June is not only about the 2008 edition of the UEFA Euro Championship, but also the moment when other disciplines virtually become available for you to try in one of the oldest and most appreciated competitions in the world: the Olympic Games. Beijing 2008: The Official Video Game of the Olympic Games is expected to hit this June the North American markets for Xbox 360 and PS3 consoles as well as PC systems.

The game's developer, Sega, promises that Beijing 2008 will feature uncanny realism with fully rendered models of the actual Olympic arenas where competitions take place as well as the surrounding cityscape of Beijing. No less than 32 national teams will be represented in the game and over 35 sporting events will be available for you to try. Also, a world's first will be noted by this game: up to four players will be allowed to compete against one another online.

"Extending our relationship with SEGA to include the Official Video Game of Beijing 2008 strengthens the opportunity to build upon the success of the children's character game, Mario & Sonic at the Olympic Games. We feel certain that SEGA will further the success of Athens 2004™, thereby delivering what will be an outstanding, quality gaming experience", stated Raymond Goldsmith, Chairman & CEO of ISM.

It seems that there are so many and cool features in Beijing 2008 that Sega just doesn't have time to write them all down. Still, the developers took their time to come with some of the most important features we'll get to see in the game. So, except from the fact that 32 nations and 38 total events will be available for us, Sega will bring an incredible 1,000 character models to choose from, as well as the possibility to play either as male or female. Along with the Training Mode, which is a must for every wannabe athlete, we'll also receive the Competition and Career Modes, all of them fully implemented in the online option: leaderboards, ghosts of your best performances and LAN support for PC owners.