New look for www.olympic.org as Beijing 2008 celebrates two years to go¡£[BOCOG]

Geared to feed the interest of Olympic fans but also to assist media around the globe, the new portal brings forward key information and visuals allowing visitors to easily find what they are looking for among the thousands of images, audio and video files available.

For example, visitors will now have easy access from the home page to the multimedia gallery featuring over 1,000 videos; to the Olympic medallists' database, which includes all information from Athens 1896 to the Turin 2006 Games; and to Olympic and world records. They will also find a direct link to the IOC news section, where stories on the activities of the Olympic Movement are posted on a daily basis.

A new service for the media is a key feature of the new home page. At the click of a mouse, the media can connect to the IOC NewsRoom, a multimedia platform where broadcast-quality videos of the latest IOC activities and events, audio files, photographs, press releases and background information can be downloaded free of charge. Launched today with videos focusing on two years to go until the Beijing Games in 2008 (see details below), the service will be further strengthened in the coming months to become a reference for reporters looking for Olympic news material.

In two years' time on 8 August 2008 at 8 p.m., all eyes will turn towards Beijing and the Opening Ceremony of the Games of the XXIX Olympiad. With world-wide interest increasing as this date approaches, the Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) is beginning the countdown to hosting Games that will leave a unique legacy to China and to sport, where the people of China and the world will be enriched through cultural exchange. In Beijing, the "two-years-to-go" mark will be celebrated with numerous activities, such as around one million people participating in morning exercises in over 4,900 different places across the city, and the premiere of a children's play involving the Beijing Olympic Mascots.

As momentum gathers, the first sports events to test Olympic standards will be staged in the coming weeks. In addition, the 5th World Forum on Sport, Education and Culture will be held in Beijing from 22 to 24 October, followed by the visit of the IOC Coordination Commission, which will assess the state of preparations and guide BOCOG through the last 20 months before the Games.