After only four days and 16 games, the 2009 World Championship is producing phenomenal results for IIHF.com locally and around the world. So far, Latvia leads the way with 1,742,824 visits, but even more spectacular is that people from 167 countries have paid us a visit. That’s no typo—1…6…7!

So, if you are reading this in Brunei, Guyana, and Fiji, you are the one and only person to have checked into the world’s greatest winter game! The top ten visits read like this after Latvia: 2. Finland (1,725,423), 3. Switzerland (1,326,378), 4. Canada (1,221,794), 5. Germany (1,214,362), 6. United States (925,578), 7. France (892,140), 8. Russia (841,942), 9. Sweden (792,415), 10. Hungary (595,137).

The tournament is being followed by all of the IIHF’s 65 member nations, including Israel (30th, 54,329 hits), Australia (32nd, 36,068), Argentina (47th, 6,526), and the newest member, Moldova (50th, 5,895).

What is so incredible about the modern world of internet is that the World Championship is also being watched by fans in Egypt (63rd, 2,932 hits), India (71st, 1,609), Bermuda (81st, 1,038), Greenland (100th, 273), Ecuador (109th, 180), and even the Faroe Islands (144th, 14 visitors).

Of course, with nearly two weeks of hockey still to play, these numbers will increase and perhaps even the number of nations will jump as well. Stay tuned.

ANDREW PODNIEKS