SHANGHAI, March 20 /Xinhua-PRNewswire/ -- On March 19, CCTV.COM and Augmentum (CCTV.com's technology partner) officially commenced the Online Olympic Torch Relay with a celebration titled "Follow the Torch around the world, to my hometown, and to Mt. Qomolangma." The event, which took place in Beijing, included nearly 300 attendees from the International Olympic Committee, the Beijing Olympic Committee, CCTV Sports Center, CCTV.COM, and invited media. Beijing 2008 is the first Olympic Game that has incorporated new media in its broadcasting activities.
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The 29th Olympic Games will open in Beijing on August 8, 2008. The Torch Relay, which is the highlight of events before the Opening Ceremony, will begin on March 24. The "Beijing 2008 Torch Relay Website" is part of CCTV.COM's official Beijing Olympics website and leverages new media in its delivery of content to users around the world. As such, the website represents not only Beijing's goal of creating a technologically advanced Olympics, but also a milestone in bringing the Games to the masses.
As CCTV.COM's technology partner, Augmentum, a global software service provider, worked closely with CCTV.COM to analyze requirements for the website and oversaw the entire development lifecycle from architecture and UX design to implementation and testing. Beijing 2008 Olympics Torch Relay Website covers real-time torch relay news as well as photos and videos of the cities involved. In addition, the site provides special features such as Torch Relay in My Hometown and Torch on Mt. Qomolangma. Furthermore, Internet users can participate in interactive activities such as designing the torch relay route in their hometown, voting for their favorite torchbearers, and enjoying live broadcast of the Torch Relay.
"We are glad to have had the opportunity to work closely with CCTV.COM to build the Web 2.0 Internet platform, which utilizes a user experience driven methodology. The collaboration resulted in an interactive website that allows everyone to participate in the Torch Relay activities online," said Leonard Liu, Augmentum CEO and Chairman.
The Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay will traverse the longest distance, cover the greatest area and include the largest number of people in Olympic history. It will travel 137,000 kilometers in 130 days, reaching five continents and passing through 113 cities in China. 58% of all people in China will be able to travel to a Torch Relay site within an hour's car ride and watch the Relay in person. In addition to accessing real-time Torch Relay news online, users can upload and share photos of the Torch Relay passing their hometown. In typical Web 2.0 style, CCTV.COM's Beijing 2008 Olympic Torch Relay Website will enable more people than ever to participate virtually in the Torch Relay that symbolizes the Olympic spirit.
About Augmentum
Augmentum is a leading outsourcing vendor that provides value-added software development. Augmentum engineers augment their clients' teams, utilizing leading edge development tools and technologies, as well as proven processes, to create commercial-quality software. The management team has decades of collective experience outsourcing commercial software and solutions. Augmentum's U.S. headquarters is located in Foster City, California; its Chinese headquarters is in Shanghai and it has an R&D center in Beijing. The company has grown to 1,200 employees in China and 1,250 worldwide in four years since its founding. Augmentum won the inaugural Red Herring Asia Top 100 award in 2005, the Risk Management award at the Gartner China Outsourcing Summit in 2006, and was named to Global Services 100 in 2007 and 2008. In September 2007, Augmentum attended "Summer Davos" in Dalian, China as a "New Champion" of the World Economic Forum's First Annual Meeting of Global Growth Companies. Later, the company was named as one of the Founding Members of Community of Global Growth Companies. In October 2007, Augmentum was listed as one of 2007 InformationWeek China's 100 Most innovative users of information technology; and the company ranked No. 1 in the software service industry on the list.
