Since Google Earth and Google Maps have brought maps into our digital life we are used to combining content with geographical data. In order to promote this service Google also releases tailor-made maps for special events such as the Olympic Games in China: on an Olympic Torch Relay Map web users can track the Olympic torch on its way around the world!

The map is regularly updated according to the current location of the torch. You can also click on the torch icon for information about the cities or download the Google Earth layer to watch the relay in action. Unfortunately the map isn’t very helpful when it comes to the exact route through the cities, but it is a great idea and a smart application that is creating a lot of buzz both online and offline.

As are the Olympic Games even although they haven’t even started yet - heated debates are going on in the blogosphere about the violent protests in Paris and San Francisco and the idea of boycotting the games because of the Tibet conflict (check out the press coverage below). Personally I don’t think that boycotting an event the athletes have been training for all their lives is more than unfair towards them. Neither will it change a political situation, which by the way was well-known before China was awarded the games. So talking politics now after a supposedly “unpolitical” decision years ago does seem rather hypocritical to me. Or what do you think? Any political sports experts out there?

Source: Google-latlong blog