For bloggers

Oct 12, 2009 08:06 GMT  ·  By

For those of you who see the Winter Olympic Games as an opportunity for freestyle blogging rather than alpine skiing, Microsoft has a sweet deal lined up. In collaboration with the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), the Redmond company has launched a contest designed to put together a blogging team that will report daily from the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. The software giant revealed that a student and a female blogger would be sent to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, as winners of the Office Winter Games Contest, and both would leverage Microsoft technologies in order to report from the event.

“Microsoft Office will give bloggers the reporting, editing and communication tools they’ll require across the PC, mobile phone and browser,” noted Janice V. Kapner, senior director of Information Worker Group Communications at Microsoft. Of course, the Office Winter Games Contest not only offers a chance to “participate,” alongside members of the credentialed press, at the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, but to also test drive first-hand the next iteration of the Office System before general availability, which is planned for spring 2010.

“Because blogs and online reporting are an increasingly popular way for sports fans to consume news about their favorite events, Microsoft will equip the two talented bloggers with Microsoft Office 2010 Professional to help them report with ease right from the sidelines,” Kapner added.

Set in place as an Office 2010-centric prelude to the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, the Microsoft Office Winter Games Contest already opened to interested bloggers in the US. Two winners of the contest will be awarded a seven-day trip to Vancouver, British Columbia. The Microsoft Office team is also ready to provide not only press access to the Games (trip to blog at the Vancouver Games (Feb. 11-17, 2010, or Feb. 23-29, 2010)), but also technology such as Office 2010 Professional and Acer Aspire 4810 laptops. But there are additional prizes, including a trip to the 2010 International Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas (Jan. 7-10, 2010).

Interested bloggers can head over to the Office Winter Games Contest registration page and fill out their details, but be ready to also put together a contest post. “As an Olympic gold medalist, I know the passion and excitement of being behind the scenes at the Winter Games,” said five-time Olympic gold medalist Bonnie Blair. “We’re excited to give these two bloggers the chance to experience the thrill of this time-honored event as well.”

Microsoft is currently working on the first public Beta of Office 2010, and indicated the past week that the gold build of the productivity suite was planned for the spring of next year.