Thursday, August 2, 2012

Experience the London 2012 Games with Google

The Olympic Games are well underway and more than half the planet—some 4.8 billion people—will tune in to watch. To help you join in the excitement and glory of the Games, we’ve put together google.com.au/olympics. Here’s a quick look at the updates, results and other content we’re bringing you from London 2012.

Discover and learn more
Want to know what your team’s next medal prospect is, or if you’ve missed Oscar Pistorius making history in the 400m? Here are a few ways we’re helping you get all the hottest news in a flash:

  • Search  from your desktop, phone or tablet for [london 2012], a country team like [Team AU], or a sport like [archery], and you’ll see up-to-the-minute detailed information.
  • In the Hot Searches section of the site, we show you which topics, athletes or events are being searched for by fans around the world. The analysis is updated hourly, and you can click on any search to read associated news articles.
  • On Google Play, find a collection of useful apps, including the Official Australian Olympic Team app, for download on your Android device.


Connect with your teams and favourite athletes
I’ll be cheering on both the stars and the underdogs, and closely following the updates from the Games:

  • Get the latest posts from +The Olympics Games and the competing teams on Google+. I’ll be split rooting for my country men and women, Team USA AND for the local favourites and current home country, Team AU
  • Show who you support by customising your cover photo on Google+ (or other social network)

Explore London like you’re there
Living in London, I’ve been lucky enough to see the transformation of the East End over the past few years, but for those of you who live outside the city, you can still see the sights online.
  • Fly around the Olympic Park, explore the cycling and marathon courses or take a virtual tour of London landmarks in Google Earth.
  • Compare aerial imagery of the London of 1948 (the last time London hosted the Games) to the London of today.

Watch the action as it happens—and see highlights from past Games
For the hundreds of millions of people unable to make it to London, YouTube is helping bring the games to you in a number of markets around the world. For those of you want to relive great moments from some of the previous 29 Olympiads, explore an archive on YouTube—some of my favourites are Derek Redmond’s inspirational finish of the 400m semi-final in Barcelona 1992, Cathy Freeman’s gold medal in the 400m at Sydney 2000 and Afghanistan's first-ever Olympic medal at Beijing 2008. And of course, I’ll never forget Team Americas memorable win in the 1980 Winter Olympics:



You can find it all at www.google.com.au/olympics

Ernesto Soriano, Product Marketing Manager, (and American expatriate) Google Australia