Google marks start of Winter Olympics with doodle, anti-discrimination passage

Google on Friday joined the world in marking the start of the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia, with another of its patented doodles.

But this time, visitors to Google's homepage (www.google.com) were greeted with not just a colorful image but a quote from the Olympic Charter rejecting discrimination.

"The practice of sport is a human right. Every individual must have the possibility of practicing sport, without discrimination of any kind and in the Olympic spirit, which requires mutual understanding with a spirit of friendship, solidarity and fair play," read the passage Google quoted from the Olympic Charter, which was positioned at the bottom of the doodle.

Clicking on the image in the doodle will take the visitor to Search Results for "Olympic Charter" from the International Olympic Committee website.

The Specblo.com website said Google has published many interactive and animated doodles for Olympics.

"In the Google doodle for Sochi winter olympics, also known as XXII Olympic Winter Games, we can see Google logo is place in the bottom of track in logo colors, with each track representing a Olympic games. We can see the highlighted games of the Olympic season Freestyle Skiing, Speed skating, Ice Hockey, Snowboard, Bobsleigh and Ice Skating , featured in the Sochi Google doodle," it said.

But many visitors could also argue the colorful doodle, with the colors arranged like that of a rainbow, could be a statement of sorts against sexual discrimination.

Gay rights had become an issue in the Winter Games due to a Russian law that criminalizes "propaganda of nontraditional sexual relations" in the presence of minors, the Los Angeles Times reported.

International Olympic Committee president Thomas Bach was quoted in the report as saying the IOC will "stand against any kind of discrimination for whatever reason." — LBG, GMA News