The Beijing Olympics has been dramatic and engaging, but the official website is a yawn.

IN A NUTSHELL

Have you noticed that the "official" in official websites often means boring? It certainly holds true for the Official Beijing 2008 Olympic Games website, which fails to capitalize on numerous opportunities to lure its worldwide audience to the site before, during, and after the games.

BRAVO

The site does a good job with formalities such as rules, facts, and travel regulations. The spectators section contains tips on accommodations, food, and sightseeing in Beijing and the six other host cities. The press section is filled with forms, guides, and media bulletins, and the site can be translated into Chinese, French, Spanish, and Arabic for its international audience.

TRY AGAIN

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad had seven years to set the stage for its online presence. Instead of showcasing the latest and greatest Web technologies for a worldwide audience, however, the site could’ve been designed in 2001 considering the absence of any dynamic Web 2.0 components. Plus, the navigation is inconsistent, images are slow to load, too many links open up new windows or tabs, and the competition schedule is confusing.

The absence of rich, engaging content makes this site a one-time stop. Where are the medal tallies, interactive games, mobile content, the opportunity to post comments, or the forums for fans to rally around their favorite athletes? Moreover, where is the live streaming video? NBCOlympics.com steals the show in this regard. They also slice and dice information about the 2008 games in a much friendlier way: by country, sport, athletes, medals, news, results, local coverage, videos, and photos.

The so-called “Fun Page” on the official site contains newsletters, wallpapers, screensavers, and an FAQ, none of which are much fun. They recently slapped links to interactive content (think animated explanations of each sport, mini games, and e-papers that target a youth audience) in the sidebar of this page, all of which are hosted on Olympic.org. We’re confused about the Top 10 News Stories found through the “Fun Page” instead of the News section. Even worse are the broken links.

Another problem is that you can’t buy merchandise on the site. They show the goods but don’t allow anyone to purchase them, despite misleading headlines that say “Olympic Posters Available.” In comparison, the Vancouver 2010 Olympics site already has plenty of products for sale.

When “unofficial” websites for a company’s main product, in this case the Olympic Games, far outpace the official site, something is amiss.