Special report:   2008 Olympic Games

    BEIJING, May 31 (Xinhua) -- About 509,000 people across the world have applied to be volunteers at the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Games.

    The applicants include nearly 303,000 Beijing residents - some 200,000 from local universities, and more than 18,000 compatriots of Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan, overseas Chinese and foreigners. The remaining 188,000 were from other regions of the country, according to a conference held on Wednesday by the Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Youth League.

    The volunteers will help with a variety of tasks, including running information booths, marshalling crowds, registering journalists, helping athletes move through stadiums smoothly and providing multilingual services.

    Only 100,000 of the applicants will be chosen as volunteers for the Games themselves, with 70,000 for the Olympic Games and about 30,000 for the Paralympic Games. The remaining will serve as so-called city volunteers, working in key urban areas such as bus stops, service stations, subway stations and first-aid centers.

    Volunteers will be provided meals but they must pay their own transport to and from Beijing and accommodation in the Chinese capital.

    Recruitment for volunteers in Beijing kicked off on August 28, 2006. The campaign started on January 19, 2007 in other mainland regions. Recruitment for Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan compatriots and foreigners was launched on March 28.

    Volunteers will get professional training from 168 experts at about 20 bases in Beijing, according to the volunteer department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG).

    Beijing has worked out a draft regulation concerning insurance, training, risk prevention and other measures protecting the rights and interests of volunteers. The draft, which is being examined by the municipal legislature, also bans any recruitment attempts by enterprises or organizations unless they get approval or join legal volunteer organizations.