The Top Ten News Stories on Beijing Olympic Games (2006) were unveiled on Thursday, with "Chinese government attaches great importance to Olympic preparation" and "Affordable ticket prices announced for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games" standing high on the list.

BOCOG Executive Vice President Jiang Xiaoyu and other dignitaries attended the unveiling ceremony and announced the results. On hand were also athletes' representatives, including twin sisters Jiang Wenwen and Jiang Tingting, first Chinese gold metal winners in synchronized swimming, and Asian Games weightlifting gold medalist Qiu Le.

The Internet users' voting, together with experts' evaluation, produced the Top Ten list: 1) Chinese government attaches great importance to Olympic preparation; 2) Affordable ticket prices announced for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games; 3) Supportive structures of the National Stadium removed successfully; 4) Over 240,000 Beijingers apply for volunteers; 5) BOCOG launches Heart-to-Heart Partnership program; 6) IOC decides on the competition schedule for Beijing 2008; 7) Creation team for Games ceremonies announced; 8) Beijing 2008 Paralympic Games Mascot Fu Niu Lele unveiled; 9) Beijing 2008 Olympic pictograms unveiled; and 10) Regulations on Reporting Activities in China by Foreign Journalists issued.

In his speech, Jiang Xiaoyu said remarkable progress has been made in the construction of the official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games over the last year. After the launch of the new edition, steady increase has been seen in the number of visitors to the site, which has become a key window for the broad masses to pay attention to, support and take part in the Olympics.

The selection campaign was sponsored by the official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games (www.beijing2008.cn), People's Daily online (www.people.com.cn), and Xinhuanet (www.xinhuanet.com).

Since its launch on December 17, the campaign has attracted growing interest and support from Internet users across the country and abroad, with votes coming from all provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities, as well as Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (SAR) and Macao SAR. Votes also came from over 50 countries and regions, including Australia, Russia, Canada, Indonesia, Singapore, Republic of Korea, Sri Lanka, Brazil, Norway, Greece, Nepal, and the Bahamas. Up to December 28, over 300,000 votes have been received.

The selection campaign was supervised by the Internet Affairs Bureau of the State Council Information Office and BOCOG Media and Communications Department. Sohu.com inc., the official Internet Content Service Sponsor for Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, extended special support.

(en.beijing2008.cn December 28, 2006)