Malaysia is attempting a new benchmark as the most social media friendly SEA Games ever with its comprehensive coverage of the 29th edition of the regional sporting showpiece that starts next month and the ASEAN Para Games that follow in September.

With the regional sports spectacle a little more than a month away, the Malaysian SEA Games Organising Committee (MASOC) laid out a digital platform last week to keep local and international followers fully informed in real time of the latest action at both the SEA Games and Asean Para Games.

The platform encompasses popular social media outlets like YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Instagram to help watch the action live, while sports fans can get instant results through apps for iOS and Android systems.

Along with the app, Malaysia’s Youth and Sports Minister Khairy Jamaluddin also introduced what he described as a 2017 Kuala Lumpur SEA Games special, the “Augmented Reality Rimau” (ARR), claiming that it had not been seen before even at the Olympics level.

When markers are scanned at venues, a 3D icon pops up guiding users to live scores, medal tally and a gamut of other related information.

The Games’ official YouTube site will host 15 channels with two of them for streaming selected events live and the rest for video on demand.

According to MASOC, 30 in-house journalists, 10 social media journalists and 40 photographers will be involved in constantly updating info.

The official KL2017 film It Takes a Nation to Raise a Champion, directed by young director Quek Shio Chuan, was also previewed for the first time last week.

Meanwhile, the organisers have announced that tickets for basketball, netball and taekwondo have sold out. According to the official Games website, kualalumpur2017.com.my, tickets for the finals of Indonesian martial art pencak silat and swimming have also sold out.