RALEIGH — The 1998 Winter Olympic Games are just a couple of weeks away. You'll be able to watch all the action from CBS on WRAL. But, if you're hungry for Olympic spirit right now, check out the Internet. WRAL OnLine reporter Tom Lawrence did, and found plenty of spirit on the Web.

The official web site for the 1998 Winter Olympics is up and running at full steam, courtesy of Big Blue and lots of IBMers from right here in the Triangle.

The official site features great stuff about all the Olympic sports, like snowboarding, figure skating, and skiing. There are schedules for all events in several languages. 3,000 athletes from eighty countries will compete for the gold, silver and bronze medals.

Kids' Plaza offers online games for the little ones. But there's much more, according to IBM Olympic Internet Manager John Chiavelli.

Listen toauorreal audiofiles."We've got sounds from the speed skating venues where you can actually hear the sound of a speed skater as it goes over the ice. We've got great detailed information on every sport and on basically every athlete, every country, every result where you want it."

You'll be able to check on results and anything about the Olympics from anywhere if you're on the net.

If you're really into Olympic sports, there's another site you're going to want to visit calledFanMail. From there, you can send the athletes e-mail, or you can even read their homepages.

FanMail lets you follow your favorite competitors. There are no promises of returning your e-mail, but it's fun to send it. Athletes' homepages let you know more about them than you're likely to find out on TV.

So, join the Olympics early and, check out these sites.