May 25 - Usain Bolt appears more likely to compete at Glasgow 2014 after Virgin Media were unveiled as the latest sponsor of the Commonwealth Games.
The New York-based company, whose UK operations are in Surrey, claim to be Britain's leading communications and entertainment company.
They will also be the Presenting Partner of Athletics, which is due to take place at Hampden Park and is expected to be the highlight of Glasgow 2014, as well as being a partner of Team Scotland.
Bolt, winner of three Olympic gold medals at both Beijing 2008 and London 2012, has a commercial deal with Virgin Media and has appeared in a series of adverts pretending to be the company's founder Richard Branson.
Mo Farah, the Olympic 5,000 and 10,000m champion, also appears in Virgin Media adverts.
Both Bolt and Farah are expected to appear in a new campaign in the build-up to Glasgow 2014.
"Virgin Media is a great company and I'm delighted they have decided to continue their support of athletics by becoming a Commonwealth Games partner," said Bolt, the world record holder for the 100m and 200m.
The company is sure to want to see the Jamaican take part in Glasgow.
"Glasgow 2014 will bring together the greatest athletes from across the Commonwealth for one of the biggest sporting events ever to take place in Scotland," said John Dodds, chief marketing officer at Virgin Media.
"With our Home Nation heroes and international superstars, we're getting behind Glasgow and can't wait to build on an amazing track record of success."
Bolt has never competed in the Commonwealth Games but his presence would add creditability to the quality of the competition of Glasgow 2014, which is due to take place between July 23 and August 4, and help bring it worldwide exposure.
Farah has already committed himself to running at Glasgow 2014.
"Having Virgin Media's continued support both personally, and as a sponsor of the Commonwealth Games, is a big boost to athletics," he said.
"I love competing on home turf and I hope to run in Glasgow in 2014.
"The Scottish crowd is always very passionate about athletics."
"We are delighted to welcome Virgin Media into the Glasgow 2014 sponsor family and we are hugely excited to be working with such a fantastic partner," said Lord Smith, chairman of Glasgow 2014.
"Virgin Media is a highly regarded company and has such a strong presence here in Scotland.
"We look forward to collaborating with Virgin Media, its customers and staff in developing some exciting engagement and activation opportunities over the coming months, which will really bring the partnership to life."
Virgin Media employs around 800 staff in Bellshill, just east of Glasgow, making it one of the largest employers in the area.
The office is one of the company's centres of excellence for customer care and it is also a major site for Virgin Media Business, providing telecommunications services for small to large businesses as well as to the public sector.
The adverts featuring Bolt and Farah which ran during and after the Olympics were credited with helping the company add 39,500 customers in the three months to end-September last year, compared with 6,300 for the same quarter the previous year.
That was despite the advertising campaign running into controversy after the watchdog banned an online advert featuring Usain Bolt, ruling that the cable firm could not deliver on a promise relating to superfast broadband, following a complaint from rival BT.
They join a portfolio of sponsors which already includes Longines, SSE, Emirates, Virgin Media, Harper Macleod, Search Consultancy, Ernst & Young, Atos, Dell, Toshiba TEC, A.G. Barr, NVT Group, RGS, Trespass, Riedel and Ticketmaster.
Bolt, winner of three Olympic gold medals at both Beijing 2008 and London 2012, has a commercial deal with Virgin Media and has appeared in a series of adverts pretending to be the company's founder Richard Branson.
Mo Farah, the Olympic 5,000 and 10,000m champion, also appears in Virgin Media adverts.
Both Bolt and Farah are expected to appear in a new campaign in the build-up to Glasgow 2014."Virgin Media is a great company and I'm delighted they have decided to continue their support of athletics by becoming a Commonwealth Games partner," said Bolt, the world record holder for the 100m and 200m.
The company is sure to want to see the Jamaican take part in Glasgow.
"Glasgow 2014 will bring together the greatest athletes from across the Commonwealth for one of the biggest sporting events ever to take place in Scotland," said John Dodds, chief marketing officer at Virgin Media.
"With our Home Nation heroes and international superstars, we're getting behind Glasgow and can't wait to build on an amazing track record of success."
Bolt has never competed in the Commonwealth Games but his presence would add creditability to the quality of the competition of Glasgow 2014, which is due to take place between July 23 and August 4, and help bring it worldwide exposure.
Farah has already committed himself to running at Glasgow 2014."Having Virgin Media's continued support both personally, and as a sponsor of the Commonwealth Games, is a big boost to athletics," he said.
"I love competing on home turf and I hope to run in Glasgow in 2014.
"The Scottish crowd is always very passionate about athletics."
"We are delighted to welcome Virgin Media into the Glasgow 2014 sponsor family and we are hugely excited to be working with such a fantastic partner," said Lord Smith, chairman of Glasgow 2014.
"Virgin Media is a highly regarded company and has such a strong presence here in Scotland.
"We look forward to collaborating with Virgin Media, its customers and staff in developing some exciting engagement and activation opportunities over the coming months, which will really bring the partnership to life."
Virgin Media employs around 800 staff in Bellshill, just east of Glasgow, making it one of the largest employers in the area.
The office is one of the company's centres of excellence for customer care and it is also a major site for Virgin Media Business, providing telecommunications services for small to large businesses as well as to the public sector.
The adverts featuring Bolt and Farah which ran during and after the Olympics were credited with helping the company add 39,500 customers in the three months to end-September last year, compared with 6,300 for the same quarter the previous year.
That was despite the advertising campaign running into controversy after the watchdog banned an online advert featuring Usain Bolt, ruling that the cable firm could not deliver on a promise relating to superfast broadband, following a complaint from rival BT.They join a portfolio of sponsors which already includes Longines, SSE, Emirates, Virgin Media, Harper Macleod, Search Consultancy, Ernst & Young, Atos, Dell, Toshiba TEC, A.G. Barr, NVT Group, RGS, Trespass, Riedel and Ticketmaster.