The bot, developed in a collaboration between the two organisations, will feature information about athletes, event disciplines and results throughout the 10 days of competition at the showpiece biennial event.

"With the official launch of the Spikes Bot on Skype, the IAAF has taken an exciting and innovative path to engage with sports audiences in a personalised way," said IAAF chief executive Oliver Gers. 

"Athletics is an objective sport. 

"The athletes that run the fastest, jump higher or longer and throw farthest are the winners. 

"However, to the new or casual fan our sport can seem complicated as those winning performances are governed by technical rules and regulations. 

"Added to that there are also a lot of athletes and many event disciplines."

Gers added: "The Spikes Bot platform enables new fans to break down the complexities of athletics. 

"The simple and interactive Skype interface will allow our bot users to explore, follow and receive real-time updates based on their specific interests. 

"Fans can learn or go deeper into the sport."

Updates from Skype will include videos and images of the most "breathtaking moments"

It will also include a "Live View", billed as a "a one-click way to get updated with live reports directly from the Olympic Stadium in London".

This will let you customise which athletes and specific competitions you wish to be updated on through the "My Spikes" watch-list. 

More information can be found here.