Microsoft searching for Olympic medals

Although it talks about the battle with Google as a marathon rather than a sprint, Microsoft is hoping that the Olympics will help give its Internet properties a tail wind.

As Google and Yahoo are also doing, Microsoft is tailoring its search results to feature Olympics content. Its news, video, and celebrity search results will all highlight Olympics content.

Still, when it comes to search, Microsoft is probably going to have to be happy with the Bronze medal, in terms of overall traffic.

In other events, though, Microsoft is going for the gold (OK, I'm done with Olympic metaphors). Most notable is its deal with NBC, which is using Microsoft's Silverlight to power the video on NBCOlympics.com, which is being produced in conjunction with MSN.

While much of the attention is focused on the thousands of hours of live and on-demand video streams for the PC, more limited options also exist for content to be downloaded to an Xbox, Zune, or Windows-running laptop.

Click here for more stories on tech and the Beijing Olympics.

[Philstera]

"While much of the attention is focused on the thousands of hours of live and on-demand video streams for the PC, more limited options also exist for content to be downloaded to an Xbox, Zune, or Windows-running laptop. "

Gee that makes a lot of sense, tell me whats the difference between a PC and a Windows-running laptop? Answer: nothing cos a windows-running laptop is a PC.

What exactly are these more limited options? Please enlighten us with your infinite wisdom.

[jef5623]

Microsoft will have to do this since its the first Olympics of the 7th age of computing

[benjaminstraight]

Of course. Follow the trends and the money will come.