HONG KONG, Feb. 18 (Xinhua) -- The Beijing Winter Olympics have become the most-watched Winter Games ever, the South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported, citing official data from the International Olympic Committee.

Figures from the committee showed that almost 600 million Chinese viewers were attracted in the first week of the multi-sport event, according to an SCMP article on Thursday.

The Olympics are the most-watched Winter Games in the United States, with more than 100 million Americans tuning in on the networks of NBCUniversal, it said.

The surging viewership is in sharp contrast to the "diplomatic boycott" by several Western countries, including the United States, the article said.

In addition to watching television broadcasts, fans are also active on social media, with 2.5 billion engagements on Olympic channels, making it the most digitally engaged Winter Games to date.