Olympic Internet Coverage Gets Boost from New Search Tool

It's no secret that the Olympics are big business. Big for development, tourism, and of course cable networks. Not to be outdone NBC, Microsoft, and Google have joined the drive to bring Olympic coverage to as many people as possible. The trio have launched initiatives allowing simplified searches of Olympic events and results.

This plan should be welcomed by people on-the-go, who can watch events on their smartphones. It's also handy for those who don't have access to cable TV, and rely on their computers for news and entertainment.

How does it work?

By downloading a Microsoft web browser, users will be able to watch every sporting event, including the less popular ones that rarely make it onto television.

The Olympic streaming will be powered by Silverlight, a recently developed Microsoft technology allowing the display of "graphics, audio, video and interactive animations inside a Web browser display's fixed window." Silverlight will make it easier to watch events and check scores without the browser having to constantly refresh the page. (Source: efluxmedia.com)

In a similar move, Google announced its Olympic spin on news access. Aimed specifically at mobile phone users, the company announced that its plan "gets you sport results, country medal count, and event schedules right at the top of your search results." (Source: informationweek.com)

The new search will bring any information involving Olympic results relevant to your search term at the top of the results list. Thus, a search for "100 meter freestyle" would show the 2008 Beijing Olympic scores for that event as the top result. For smartphone aficionados, Google offers the Google Mobile Olympic Site in 36 languages and 60 countries.

Google and Microsoft's Olympic coverage/searches bring the Internet far closer to being the primary way many in the world get their Olympic coverage. Not everyone has time to sit down and watch hours of swimming, gymnastics or running. As most of us know, running a business, classroom, or household is an event in itself.