A picture showing three foreigners coming to the aid of a Chinese girl who fainted at last week's opening ceremony has become the talk of China's online community for its depiction of the true spirit of the Olympics.

The image, which shows the trio carrying a cheerleader backstage at the Bird's Nest after she collapsed due to heat exhaustion, has already appeared in several newspapers and on major news portals such as Sina.com.

The photo widely circulated on the Internet.

The girl was one of hundreds of dancers whose job was to keep the huge crowds entertained ahead of the main event.

The photograph has prompted thousands of people to express their gratitude to the anonymous foreigners via Internet bulletin boards.

"We have no idea of their nationalities but we definitely should give a big thank-you to our foreign friends" one person wrote.

"The picture perfectly reflects the sentiment of the theme song of this Olympics that says we are all from one world and part of one family. The Olympic Games has brought people together regardless of race, culture or language," another said.

The Beijing Olympics appears to have stimulated a real outpouring of brotherly love across the country, especially among Internet communities.

Since news broke that Olympic 10 m air pistol shooting champion Guo Wenjun was abandoned by her father at the age of 14, Sina.com said it has received more than 10,000 posts from people expressing their desire to help her.

Guo said after winning the gold medal on Sunday that she hoped the victory might lead to a reunion with her father.

(China Daily August 14, 2008)