Even before the Games of the XXIX Olympiad are declared officially open at 8.08p.m. on 08.08.2008 the footballers will have kicked off today in one of three stadiums in Beijing and four more around China. Ronaldinho, twice FIFA World Player of the Year, will light up the men’s tournament with Brazil, but the women are the first to go, and the USA will be looking to defend their title.

"Of sorts" is probably a bit confusing, as it is a YouTube channel, but as the International Olympic Committee announced on Monday, it will be geo-limited to 77 territories "across Africa, Asia and the Middle East, including India, Republic of Korea, Nigeria and Indonesia" where video-on-demand (VOD) rights to the broadcast have not already been sold.

Officials in China are assuring Olympic athletes and spectators arriving for the Beijing Olympic Games 2008 that they will be safe from terrorists. Organizing committee spokesman Sun Weide told reporters Tuesday that China could guarantee a safe and peaceful Olympics.

The Antikythera Mechanism, which was used in ancient Greece to make astronomical calculations, has now been discovered to also record the times of the Olympiads.

As the world gets ready to travel to the upcoming Olympic Games in Beijing, AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) today announced expanded wireless international service offerings to help keep customers connected to home and work around the world.

The Executive Board (EB) of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), meeting today in Beijing at its final meeting before the 2008 Olympic Games, has reached a decision in the case of Mr. Antonio Pettigrew, a member of the US team who placed first in the Mens 4x400 relay at the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games.

"The Games of the XXIX Olympiad will receive 52,000 registered guests, including 17,000 athletes and team officials who will reside in the Beijing Olympic Village," said Xiang Ping, deputy director of BOCOG Games Services Department.

The Chinese are leaving nothing to chance in their quest to have a good Olympics, and that goes beyond preparing its athletes. First we heard about its plans to seed clouds so that rain does not fall on the opening ceremonies on August 8th.

With less than a month remaining before the Beijing Olympics, Chinese officials have introduced a series of measures to improve air quality for the Games. A new tool has been installed in the capital city to allow the Chinese to monitor the effectiveness of these efforts.

If bad weather threatens the August 8 opening of Beijing’s Olympic Games, then meteorologists may change the weather, according to a Chinese meteorology official. CHINESE scientific research weather experts say they have stopped the rain from falling in experiments aimed at guaranteeing a dry opening ceremony at Augusts’ Olympic Games.

Successful, measurable steps have been taken to promote the concepts of “Green Olympics” since Beijing’s successful bidding for the Olympic Games in 2001.

Dana Torres, mother of a 2-year-old girl, looked like a kid again herself -- waving an American flag on the pool deck -- in making an unprecedented fifth Olympic team, winning the 100-meter freestyle in 53.78 seconds at the U.S. Olympic swimming trials. Natalie Coughlin, the U.S.-record holder, was second in 53.83.