Sony today announced a partnership with International Sports Multimedia (ISM), the exclusive licensee of the International Olympic Committee (IOC), to develop a PS2 game based on this year's Olympic Games. Athens 2004 is currently in development at Eurocom and is scheduled for release in July, just a few weeks before the Olympics get under way.

　　Athens 2004 will feature seven Olympic venues, including the Olympic Stadium for Athletics, the Markopoulo Olympic Shooting Centre, the Olympic Aquatic Centre, the Nikaia Olympic Weightlifting Hall, the Olympic Indoor Hall for Gymnastics, the Markopoulo Olympic Equestrian Centre, and the historic Panathinaiko Stadium for Archery. All of the venues in the game have been painstakingly re-created using architectural plans and photographs.

　　Athens 2004 will allow up to four players to compete simultaneously in a selection of events that reflects the diversity of the Olympic Games. Athletics events on offer will include the high jump, long jump, triple jump, discus throw, hammer throw, javelin throw, pole vault, and shot put, in addition to five running events, two hurdles events, the decathlon, and the heptathlon. Four different swimming disciplines will also be featured in the game, as will shooting, weightlifting, archery, equestrian jumping, and artistic gymnastic disciplines, such as floor exercises, rings, and vaults.

　　We'll bring you more information on Athens 2004 as soon as it becomes available.