The Facebook and Twitter Olympics?

The winter showcase of sporting drama that is unfolding in Vancouver right now has already grabbed its fair share of headlines, despite battling through the traditional diet of Old Firm news in Scotland.

Of course, it has taken the death of Georgian slider Nodar Kumaritashvili in a luge training session at Whistler to fully draw the world's attention to the 2010 Winter Olympics.

Since, though, attention has returned to sporting achievement, with Alexandre Bilodeau's thrilling moguls win getting the host nation up and running, and also sealing their first ever gold medal on home soil, remarkably at the third time of trying, following previous events in Montreal and Calgary.

Kumaritashvili's death will rightly be remembered as a low point of these Games, starkly contrasting with Bilodeau's sparking performance which will rightly be hailed as a high point by his compatriots, and he's already vowing to make sure that medal marks the real starting point of a 'big party' for Canada.

But away from the action, it's clear that things have changed, probably beyond recognition, in the world of major sports reporting, and Vancouver may well be a watershed which lays much of the groundwork for events to come - South Africa's World Cup later this year, followed closely by the Olympics in London in 2012, then Glasgow's Commonwealth Games in 2014.

This is quickly becoming the Olympics that will be underpinned by a global conversation, led mainly by social networking sites and tools like Facebook and Twitter.

Almost all of the sporting action, as well as events going on behind the scenes, is being jetted around the globe instantly, with fans, organisers, sponsors and observers tapping into the power of the internet to share their messages.

The official Vancouver Facebook page is attracting hundreds of comments for every post and picture, and has already been a recognisable draw for national pride and celebration, while sports companies are getting in on the act, making base in Vancouver and spreading the word online.

Even traditional media is following the new wave, with The Telegraph hosting an exclusive blog from Team UK snowboarder Zoe Gillings.

It's quickly becoming clear that while the major players and broadcast rights holders like the BBC continue to dominate with comprehensive television and online coverage, the conversation and messages are more diverse than ever, and Twitter and Facebook are getting the news out to a whole new audience in growing numbers.