Google launches special sites and services for the Olympics

By Chris V. Thangham.

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Aug 9, 2008 by ■ Chris V. Thangham - 9 votes, 2 comments

Beijing Olympics Opening Ceremony Highlights

Google has added multiple sites and services to its various properties for the 2008 Beijing Olympics. The company gives the latest updates and information that can be accessed worldwide.

Here is the complete list:

1. Special Homepage for the 2008 Beijing Olympics:

First off, Google has a central website in Chinese. Google also has an English version available here. In the U.S., you can launch videos, gadgets, medal tally etc. along with a Google Map showing the countries that received medals, the locations where the events are held and the stadiums.

2. YouTube Page for Olympics:

YouTube has partnered with the IOC and is bringing live coverage and excerpts to nearly 78 countries including Africa, India and others countries, including: Afghanistan, Angola, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Bhutan, Botswana, Brunei, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo, The Democratic Republic Of The Congo, Ivory Coast, Djibouti, East Timor, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, India, Indonesia, Iran Islamic Republic Of, Iraq, Kenya, Democratic People’s Republic Of Korea, Kuwait, People’s Democratic Republic Lao, Lesotho, Liberia, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mongolia, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Oman, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Somalia, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, United Republic Of Tanzania, Thailand, Togo, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

3. Google Maps Olympics Page:

Google also has a standalone page on Google Maps that shows the medal count, events and stadiums on the Map.

4. Google Olympics Logo:

The company has a special logo now up on its search page. The logo shows Beijing mascots Beibei, Jingjing, Hunahuan, Yingying and Nini. Together they spell “BeiJing Huan Ying Ni” (welcome to Beijing). The mascots carry the Olympic flag as shown below:

Blogoscoped.com

Olympics Logo at Google Search Page.

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5. Google Search Onebox:

If you do a quick search for a country and the Olympics, Google will give a medal tally box as shown below. If you are looking for a specific event like basketball, then it will give the upcoming events.

E.g. United States in Olympics

E.g. Basketball in Olympics

6. Google China SMS alerts:

If you are in China, you can get SMS alerts for your events and athletes sent to your phone. To subscribe to SMS alerts in Chinese, click here.

7. Sketchup 3D Models:

If you want to dabble with designs used in the Beijing Olympics, you can use Google Sketchup to access these designs.

8. LaiBa Olympics page:

Google-powered community Tianya LaiBa has a special page for the Olympics.

9. iGoogle Gadget:

To find out medal counts, upcoming events and news articles related to the Olympics, you can add this gadget to your iGoogle home page.

10. Olympics Page for Mobiles:

If you want to get updated Games information right on your mobile with Web access, you can check out this link.