Microsoft has geared up its resources for the 2008 Olympic Games, and as the sporting celebration debuts today, August 8, 2008, a wide range of its software products and online services will parade content from the Beijing event. From MSN to Live Search, and from Windows Media Center, to the Xbox console, and to the Zune digital media player, the Redmond giant is accommodating the 2008 Olympics in high fashion. Even Silverlight 2 Beta 2 has an important role to play in serving content to users.

Microsoft is touting that in excess of 3,500 hours of video from the Beijing games will be made available, either on-demand or live via Silverlight and through NBCOlympics.com. "NBCOlympics.com on MSN is the best destination to catch all the action with a 24x7 Olympics module on the MSN home page, complete with the latest news, live medal counts, statistics and videos that will make catching up on your favorite event or athlete quick and easy. Now, sports fans can keep the adrenaline pumping with non-stop action, news and videos on MSN," Microsoft revealed.

Windows Vista's Windows Media Center will also deliver coverage of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games right on the desktop. Wavexpress' TVTonic Internet video supports a free service dubbed "NBC Olympics on the Go" and available exclusively through Windows Media Center. Xbox owners will be able to access what Microsoft referred to as NBC wrap-up content, which will come with a price tag of $1.99. Zune owners have not been overlooked either. NBC Sports 2008 Olympic Games videos will be delivered through the Zune Marketplace on a daily basis and Microsoft estimated that the footage for Zune will cost between 99 cents and $1.99 per episode.

The Redmond company added that, "Live Search will provide an xRank of Olympic athletes showing which athletes are being searched for the most on Live Search, who is on the rise and who is declining in search popularity. It will also provide detailed "instant answers" on Olympics-specific search queries performed at Live.com or via Web search on NBCOlympics.com on MSN. Queries to try include an athlete's name or "Olympic medals," or medals for and/or e.g., "Medals for USA" or "USA medals for swimming.""