Tesco.com R&D chief volunteers for the Olympics

Tesco.com's head of research and development and renowned technology blogger, Nick Lansley, is to volunteer for the 2012 London Olympics to support the technology behind the Games.

Lansley said that he will be attending an interview day with the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games (LOCOG) on 17 April 2011.

"I've lived in London for 25 years and I'm absolutely thrilled that the Olympics are coming. It will give me an opportunity to return something to the city that's given me such joy over the past couple of decades," said Lansley.

While LOCOG has not gone into detail about the nature of the volunteering roles on offer, it has said it needs help in web services, to oversee the transfer of data to the media centre for TV and radio broadcasters to use. It is also looking for help within networking and to support smartphone apps that people will be able to download.

"In addition, there will be a need for expertise in infrastructure and networks to keep all the cabling and routers going, and for people who understand databases and can store data and manipulate it," said Lansley.

"But I'm happy to use my skills in whatever capacity – even if it means sitting in a dark room making sure that a web server stays online, that's fine. For me, it's just about getting stuck in and being part of it."

Anyone interested in volunteering at the Games can apply at the official London 2012 Games Maker web site.