For the first time ever, athletes are allowed to blog during the Olympic Games. And blogging, they are. US weightlifter Carissa Gump and Peruvian taekwondo artist Peter Lopez are using the Internet to stay in touch with their fans at home.

"It's just easier to do that than write you know lots of emails and phone calls that I really don't have time to call everybody."

David Churbuck works for Lenovo, the hardware provider of the Games. He helps athletes set up their own blogs.

Churbuck: "We're making history, this is like 1960 in Rome when it was the first television Olympics.This is the first blog Olympics, the first time the athletes have told their story their way. Stand Up: Blogging from the Games allows athletes to give fans an insider's view of the Olympics. But it also gives fans the chance to show their support for the athletes. For some, this helps them play harder.

"Obviously there's gonna be times when maybe I need it, like for instance if maybe I'm a little winded or maybe something hurts, I'm just going to be thinking about my fans and their support, and it's just going to carry me to the next step."

Churbuck believes fans play a huge role in the performance of athletes. He finds this interaction exciting.

He said: "We're seeing blogs turn out to be a very unique way during these games for people to congratulate, to ask questions, to interact with athletes, allowing the world really to get out from behind their television set, literally, and talk to the stars of the show."

As the stars of the show continue to blog, the fans will continue to show their support.... electronically.

(China.org.cn August 23, 2008)