Submitted by Mike Grenville on Wed, 06 Aug 2008 10:58

CNN has launched a free gold medal SMS alert service for the Beijing Olympics.

Available now, fans can register from their mobile phones by logging onto the CNN mobile site at http://cnnmobile.com/beijing08 and clicking on “alerts” to begin the registration process. Alternatively, fans can send an SMS text message to +447800001266 and enter the two letter country code of their choice.

The Olympic alerts are delivered by Clickatell who has worked with CNN since 2007 to provide a broad range of news via SMS alerts.

More than four billion TV viewers are expected to tune into the Beijing Olympic Games – many of whom can be reached by mobile phone. Roughly two billion of the planet’s mobile phone users are active users of SMS text messaging.

The free gold medal alert service from CNN will enable fans to get real-time SMS updates with their favorite country’s gold medal tally. A hyperlink within the alert will give one-click access to exclusive blogs from CNN’s correspondents in Beijing, allow users to comment on the Olympics blogs, watch video round-ups of the latest sporting action, visit the events timetable, and upload images or video to CNN’s user generated service, iReport.

"Given the worldwide appeal of the Olympic Games and the varying time zones around the world, this mobile service will break down the barriers of time zones for many viewers who would otherwise face late nights of TV or after-the-fact online coverage to tune in to the most exciting moments of the Games" said Pieter de Villiers, CEO of Clickatell.