Olympics take over the Web

NBC's Beijing Olympics 08 Facebook application. (Photo credit: NBC Universal)

Sports junkies can't seem to get enough Olympics coverage on the Web. The hot spots go well beyond major media. The Olympics can be found anywhere from your favorite search engine to your buddy's Facebook profile.

Betting: Since Olympic betting was outlawed in Las Vegas, online gambling parlors have put the Beijing Games at the forefront, with splash pages that secure them a spot near the top of Olympics searches. SBG Global and BetUS are two that seem to be betting on the popularity of the summer competition to boost their user base.

Predictions: Vegas is keeping out of guessing odds too, but there are plenty of websites filling the void. The Spread and OffshoreInsiders offer their guesses, but one of the more interesting predictors is a social networking site of sorts. Hubdub lets you create a profile and predict the outcomes of ongoing news events. The site then aggregates all users' guesses, showing the average for everything from what country will win the most medals to what color cap the winner of the men's 50-meter freestyle will be wearing -- apparently it's a 57% chance of blue, red or yellow. Yes, people will bet on just about anything.

Three-legged foot race: Cracked reader Pizzamogul's idea for improving the Olympics. (Photo credit: Cracked.com)

Facebook: For those looking for an alternative to annoy your Facebook friends -- Zombie tag is so last year -- you can trick out your profile with NBC's official Olympics application. According to the Beijing Olympics 08 app's description page, it lets you declare your favorite athletes, "GO FOR THE GOLD" -- whatever that means -- and pass your friends a virtual baton, a feature sure to get you blocked by many online acquaintances. Medal Tracker is also a pretty nifty tool. Then there's the series of applications to show support for your home country. Proudly display the United States fan app or stray from the crowd and join the four Facebook users backing Tuvalu. Their three Olympic athletes could really use the support.

Digg: Surprisingly, most social media aren't jumping on the Beijing bandwagon. Reddit's 2008 Olympics section has only 77 subscribers, and the "olympic" tag isn't even on Delicious' radar. But Digg's Olympics section has been fairly popular, with about 10 stories on the home page per day in the last week.

Google: The search engine giant, which experienced some backlash in 2006 for bowing to Chinese censorship pressure, is holding nothing back with its coverage of the Beijing Games. In addition to transforming the Google logo to a sports-related graphic featuring a Chinese symbol, it gives top nods on the widget list to the SI.com: Summer Games 2008 home page app and places an updated medal count atop Olympic-related searches. Yahoo also prominently features an Olympics widget above the fold on its home page.

Blogs: There is no shortage of sports blogs covering the Summer Games, including the L.A. Times' own Olympics Blog. Some of the more entertaining takes on the games is Cracked's and Something Awful's user-submitted graphics for making the Olympics more entertaining. Bright ideas include zombie track racing, lightsaber fencing, running from a cheetah and swimming in shark-infested waters.

Hey, Olympic committee, looking for some new ideas?

-- Mark Milian