Chinese scientists are working towards breakthroughs to help participants of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games breathe fresh air, eat healthy food, travel quickly, stay safe and even assist Chinese athletes earn more medals.

A top-level consulting team of 400-odd senior scientists and engineers will focus on 449 projects aimed at making the Beijing Games a festival of high-technology.

Du Zhanyuan, planning official with the Ministry of Science and Technology, said 1.3 billion yuan (US$157 million) of government funds and 1.8 billion yuan (US$217 million) from companies has been channeled into 449 science and technology projects prepared for the Olympics.

Breakthroughs have already been made in making Olympic construction sites greener and more energy efficient, as well as the development of electric cars, which are expected to hit the market in 2012.

To achieve China's ambitious high-tech goals, Du's ministry and the Beijing Olympic Games Organizing Committee on Friday organized an international forum attended by more than 350 participants from governmental and research organizations and companies.

Experts said that the focus should be on long-term approaches.

"I think the key is that these technologies should serve the Olympics, but not just for the Games," Zhang Jianyu, a visiting scholar with the School of Public Management of Tsinghua University told China Daily.

"The Olympics can provide a great platform for innovation, so we should have long-sighted stances," said Zhang, also head of the Beijing Office of the US-based non-governmental environmental organization, Environmental defense.

Jiang Yi, professor with Tsinghua's School of Architecture said the Olympics should become a drive for the healthy development of society, instead of a heavy economic burden which could block economic and social development.

"We should especially focus on Olympic construction projects and the realization of greener Olympic buildings," said Jiang.

Jiang said the government has already unveiled a green Olympic building assessment system, which aims to create a building environment with the least resource consumption and best environmental protection.

Xu Guanhua, minister of science and technology, said technology should play a bigger role in reducing costs and saving money for the Beijing Olympics.

"We are going to stage a wonderful but money-saving event in the summer of 2008 and sophisticated technologies are expected to meet the challenges," said Xu.

To help reduce risks and control costs, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) suggested that Chinese organizers learn from international experiences.

On Friday, organizing and science officials and Chinese researchers heard ideas from authorities from the Barcelona, Atlanta, Sydney and Athens Olympics.

"China should not only use proven solutions but also follow the main evolution of technologies," said Philippe Verveer, director of the IOC Department of Technology.

He said technology covers a large range of areas like timing, information systems, telecommunications and energy as well as video and audio systems for security.

(China Daily November 6, 2004)