Google Launches Beijing Olympics Portal

As the Beijing Olympics just opened, Google announced the launch of a new website that comprises the latest news in the sports world, videos of the competitions provided by YouTube, or 3D models of the stadiums that host the events, created with the Google SketchUp. The events schedule and a medal count, either for sports or for regions, are offered to Google users on a mobile platform.

The website is available in 66 countries and in 31 languages, as Dylan Casey, Product Manager at Google, reveals. The satellite imagery was also updated, in order to offer users who cannot attend the games a virtual experience to match the intensity of the genuine one. Moreover, the possibility of seeing details that range from stadium seats to racing tracks makes the Internet experience even more enjoyable.

"To track medal counts, click on the 'Medals' tab and zoom or pan the map to see updates around the world. Clicking on a country or region will display medal information as it's received. Use the 'Events' tab to view the latest schedules by date, country, and sport. All data - including country and region participants, sport results, and medal counts - is provided through an official feed from the World News Press Agency", explains Brittany Bohnet, Google Maps Special Projects.

Dylan Casey, the team member who announced the launch of the new Google site on the company's official blog, was actually a member of the U.S. Olympic team himself. Born in 1971, the Google fellow made it into the team that competed at the Olympics in Sydney, in 2000. "Even though I didn't walk away with any medals then, training and competing involved a herculean effort - but that pales in comparison to what we're unveiling today." says Casey, drawing a parallel between his performance as a sportsman and his achievements with Google.