Introduction into the Virtual Olympic Games Framework for online communities.

Objective: This paper presents the design of the Virtual Olympic Games Framework (VOGF), a computer application designated for athletics, health care, general well-being, nutrition and fitness, which offers multiple benefits for its participants. Background: A special interest in starting the design of the framework was in exploring how people can connect and participate together using existing computer technologies (i.e. gaming consoles, exercise equipment with computer interfaces, devices of measuring health, speed, force and distance and Web 2.0 applications). Method: A stationary bike set-up offering information to users about their individual health and athletic performances has been considered as a starting model. Conclusions: While this model is in the design stage, some preliminary findings are encouraging, suggesting the potential for various fields: sports, medicine, theories of learning, technologies and cybercultural studies. First, this framework would allow participants to perform a variety of sports and improve their health. Second, this would involve creating an online environment able to store health information and sport performances correlated with accessing multi-media data and research about performing sports. Third, participants could share experiences with other athletes, coaches and researchers. Fourth, this framework also provides support for the research community in their future investigations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]