Products featuring the new logo of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games sold like hot cakes in Beijing yesterday, the first full day after the logo was officially launched.

A shop assistant surnamed Li at the Beijing Wangfujing Department Store said: "We have been busy all day dealing with customers who have come to our store to buy Olympic souvenirs, and products with the 'Dancing Beijing' logo have nearly sold out."

He said individuals could buy only a restricted number of items, while group purchases were not allowed. This was due to the limited amount of souvenirs produced with the authorization of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

The committee authorized five shops in the Chinese capital to sell souvenirs with the logo, such as T-shirts and hats, to commemorate the unveiling of the logo and promote the image among the public.

As well as the Wangfujing Department Store, the capital's Chang'an Store, Shuang'an Store, Yansha Friendship Store and the store at Beijing International Airport were authorized shops.

The committee also authorized the company China Gold Coin Inc to sell 20,000 silver medals and 12,000 gold medals and the China National Philatelic Corp to sell 60,000 commemorative envelopes and 20,000 commemorative stamps, starting from yesterday.

Many enterprises contacted the committee to express their great enthusiasm about developing products with the Olympic logo, even before the logo was officially launched, according to committee sources.

The manager of the Wenzhou-based Jinxiang Medal Plant, surnamed Guo, said his company contacted the committee to ask about the production of authorized medals with the logo. Guo refused to give his full name.

Most of Chinese businesses hope to develop their identity internationally and boost their economic profits through the Games.

However, eager entrepreneurs will still need to wait until a detailed regulation on the commercial application of the Games logo is released in September, which is when the committee will initiate its US$1.65 billion marketing program.

According to the committee, only the sponsors of the 2008 Games and franchised enterprises can use the Games logo commercially.

The committee released a notice on Sunday aimed at protecting the logo's intellectual property, due to its great business value.

The Olympic logo is the most valuable asset in Olympic Games marketing, Jiang Xiaoyu, the committee's vice-president, said previously.

Analysts have estimated that the logo will have a commercial value of at least US$1 billion.

Coca-Cola, one of the global sponsors in the International Olympic Committee's TOP (The Olympic Partner) program, used the unveiling of the Games logo as a golden opportunity for brand promotion.

Having reached agreements with the International Olympic Committee and the Beijing organizing committee, the firm launched 1 million cans with the new logo.

(China Daily August 5, 2003)