Yao Ming, the towering rookie center for the NBA's Houston Rockets, will co-host a SARS telethon on Sunday evening to raise money to battle the disease, and educate people about the virus.

Yao's co-hosts will be Qi Hong, a member of China's national soccer team at last year's World Cup, and German soccer star Jorg Albertz, who currently plays for Shanghai Shenhua.

The telethon will be broadcast from 5 to 8 pm on Shanghai Television GreatSports Channel and Shanghai Broadcasting Network. They will also make it available via satellite to every Chinese television network.

Viewers will be able to interact with Yao and his co-hosts via telephone, mobile phone short messages and the Internet. All money raised will be donated to the Red Cross Society of China to battle SARS.

"The telethon provides an opportunity for people from all walks of life to help out in any way they want. Be it donations of cash, messages of prayer, or just mental support," Yao said yesterday at a press conference to launch his new Website (www.china.yaoming.com).

"The idea for the show actually came from Yao himself," said Erick Zhang, a leading member of Yao's management team.

"As the role model of millions of Chinese youngsters, he knows his responsibility and through this operation we hope to set a milestone in the history of Chinese charity," Zhang said.

The telethon will also highlight videotaped messages from NBA stars, including Shaquille O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Dikembe Mutombo, Phil Jackson, Bill Walton, Magic Johnson, Kevin McHale and NBA commissioner David Stern.

Yao's Houston teammate Steve Francis has reportedly donated US$10,000 to the telethon.

Memorabilia autographed by superstars, including Michael Jordan and Tiger Woods, will also be auctioned off during the telecast.

Several domestic sports stars, including shooter Xu Haifeng and gymnastics prodigy Li Ning, are also expected to take part in the event. Political figures, including former US presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush have been invited t o contribute to the event.

"We hope the telethon can draw more attention to the SARS situation," said Chen Guoqiang, editor of GreatSports Channel.

(eastday.com May 9, 2003)