• by Gavin O'Malley  @mp_gavin, January 30, 2006

About.com and NBC Friday will partner next month for coverage of the 2006 Olympic Winter Games from Torino, Italy. Under the cross-promotional agreement, NBCOlympics.com will feature links to About.com content throughout, while About.com will promote NBCOlympics.com to its visitors.

"The plan is to drive traffic to each other's sites during the games," said Andrew Pancer, chief operating officer of About.com, owned by The New York Times Company.

"From a promotional standpoint, gaining exposure to About.com's significant audience will broaden the NBCOlympics.com user base this February," Gary Zenkel, president of NBC Olympics, said in a prepared statement.

NBCOlympics.com, which provides exclusive broadband video and real-time sports results, as well as behind-the-scenes coverage of the Winter Games, will be promoted across the About.com site.

Both sites will feature the "About Olympics" blog written by About.com's "guide" to Europe, James Martin. Martin's blog will feature coverage on individual athletes, profiling their backgrounds and experiences at the games.