Special report:   2008 Olympic Games    

    BEIJING, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Some 10,000 tickets for the Olympic equestrian events are still available for online purchase, according to the event's organizers here on Friday.

    Lam Woon-kwong, CEO of the Hong Kong Olympic Equestrian Company(OEC) which organizes the equestrian events, told Xinhua that purchasers from home and abroad could apply for tickets at the website of Hong Kong's China Travel Service, www.ctshk.com.

    Purchasers will be required to submit their personal information and be held responsible if their tickets are resold or used for promotion, according to the CEO.

    The final batch of 60,000 equestrian tickets started online sale from June 12. Prices range from 58 to 544 Hong Kong dollars.

    According to Lam, there are a total of 200,000 equestrian tickets for sale, half of which are sold in Hong Kong. So far, 90 percent of the tickets have been sold out.

    As one of the six co-hosts of Beijing Olympics, Hong Kong will hold the equestrian events at Sha Tin District from Aug. 9-21. Up to 204 riders and horses from 42 countries and regions are expected to join the events.

    To prepare for the equestrian event, Hong Kong had injected 1 billion yuan (147 million U.S. dollars) in the past two years to turn a dilapidated stadium in Sha Tin District into a top-class equestrian venue.

    It could now house 18,000 spectators and provide brand-new stables for 228 horses.