MUMBAI: In a bid to tap into Facebook‘s soaring popularity among Gen Next, sportscaster ESPN Star Sports has launched “My Country, My Cheer” Facebook application to engage Indian sports fans into supporting their national athletes.

Launched to welcome the countdown to the London 2012 Olympic Games, the application is hosted on facebook.com/espnstarsports, and enables visitors to post words of encouragement for their Olympic Games representatives.

In addition to providing a platform to cheer on the Olympians, the application also provides a detailed programme schedule for the lead up, and duration of the Games, to ensure that no sports fan misses any of their favourite athletes or Olympic Games moments!

Fans can also win exclusive ESPN Star Sports London 2012 prizes for writing the most creative and passionate cheer.

In addition to “My Country, My Cheer” Facebook application also launched a London 2012 Olympic Games dedicated page on its website, espnstar.com/london2012, featuring news, videos, TV programme schedules and Games highlights.

ESS is also building up hype towards the Games by broadcasting top class Olympic Games archive programming from over 30,000 hours of historical footage chronicling the last two decades of the Games.

As an official broadcaster of the London 2012 Olympic Games, ESS will offer more than 1,200 hours of coverage across three channels including round-the-clock coverage on ESPN, Star Sports and ESPN HD during the Games.

ESS had secured the exclusive non-standard television rights including cable & satellite television from the International Olympic Committee for the Vancouver 2010 and London 2012 Olympic Games for 22 countries across the Indian subcontinent and South East Asia.

The London 2012 Games will be the biggest sporting event this summer covering 302 events in 26 sports, and will feature over 10,000 athletes from more than 200 countries around the world.