Olga Hachatryan, a freestyle swimmer from Turkmenistan, was a picture of relaxation yesterday, as she sat on a sofa watching the movie Step Up on a large plasma screen.

"There's a lot of dancing in this film, which makes it very relaxing viewing" Hachatryan, who had just finished a two-hour training session, said.

By 8:30 pm, athletes had occupied most of the seats in the DVD screening room at the Olympic Village. The mini-theater is stocked with 387 films in English, Chinese, Spanish, Portuguese and French.

"You can find any movie you want here," Hachatryan said.

The room is just part of the entertainment center in the village's international zone, where athletes can do everything from working out to playing table football.

"We like the village a lot. It's a pleasant, fun place to be," Liesbeth Mouha, a beach volleyball player from Belgium, said on her way to watch a movie.

"We also get to play other sports, like swimming and volleyball," she said.

The village - with its soft lighting in the athletes' apartments and mood music coming from the central square - is designed to be place in which to relax. At night, the chirping of crickets mingles with the laughter and conversation of its residents.

"It's cooler at night and athletes have more free time after dark," 28-year-old Kate Walsh, a hockey player from the United Kingdom said.

She said she likes to relax with a game of basketball at the Super Residential Center.

In the center's games room, Vitalie Ignatenco from the Republic of Moldova, was finding it hard not to laugh as he played table football with three fellow Olympians.

"People from all over gather here to relax and have a game of football," Ignatenco said.

"I don't even know which country the guy next to me comes from. But we're having fun anyway."

Not all of the athletes want to be so energetic, however.

Paul Griffin, a rower from Ireland, was happy just to sit on a sofa with his laptop, composing an e-mail to his family.

"Athletes travel abroad a lot, so the Internet helps them to stay in touch with home," he said.

"After a day's training, it's important for athletes to be able to relax, and it's good to feel at home."

(Xinhua News Agency August 7, 2008)