The 2012 Summer Olympics will be more socially and digitally connected than any before — there’s no question there.

The 2012 Summer Olympics is going to be streamed live for people online to watch. But will sports fans  take advantage of that? One recent study predicts online viewing engagement will be quite low for it.

The research, performed by the sports media group Perform, says just 16% of American sports fans plan to watch the action online, and 7% say ok with mobile devices. In Australia, the competition will take place during working hours as well, and online viewing forecasts are also low with 10% of Australian respondents saying they will watch online via PC. 73% say they will watch it on regular television.

China on the other hand is different, with 70% of the respondents saying they will watch it online via PC and 35% say they plan to watch it on an Internet connected mobile device. Check out the chart below. What about you? Would you watch the event online?