Early last year, the IOC has announced a ban on gene therapies for athletic performance enhancement. Yet Wu said it is still too early to talk about genetic doping tests at the Beijing Olympics as it is technically too difficult and many legal issues remain unclear.

However, past experiences at the Olympic Games indicate that IOC and WADA often introduce new tests on the eve of opening day so that athletes using forbidden substances have almost no time to evade the tests. Wu said this practice might pose new challenges to his agency, but he was sure that the challenge will be handled well. "We are able to conduct all doping tests that are carried out in other countries and we have been closely following the new technological trends," he said.

Olympics Briefs Joint Efforts to Combat Doping Eleven major Chinese government departments have combined in an effort to combat doping more effectively, said Duan Shijie, Vice Minister of the General Administration of Sport of China, at the World Conference on Doping in Sport in Madrid. According to Duan, an anti-doping coordination group has been founded in China consisting of experts and officials from agencies including the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Information Industry, Ministry of Commerce, Ministry of Health, General Administration of Customs, State Administration for Industry and Commerce, General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine, State Food and Drug Administration, the Legislative Affairs Office of the State Council, as well as the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG). "We are aware that effective doping control is not confined within the sport arena, but needs the efforts by all government and social departments as well as cooperation from the international community," said Duan, also Deputy Director of the coordination group. "That's why we decide to form this group which can better serve the anti-doping fight with support from and cooperation between different departments," he said. In August this year, State Councilor of China Chen Zhili convened a meeting discussing how to implement the international convention and regulations and methods to eradicate doping from sport. The meeting was attended by representatives from all the 11 agencies in the anti-doping coordination group and paved the way for the coordination scheme. Duan also highlighted China's other achievements in fighting doping, including the recent foundation of an independent National Anti-Doping Agency. China conducted 9,428 tests on its athletes in 2006 and the total number of tests is expected to exceed 10,000 this year. Map for Olympic Tourists An electronic map of host cities of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games made its debut on the official website of the games (http://www.beijing2008.cn/emap/) on November 23. The interactive map system has Chinese versions for Beijing, Qingdao and Hong Kong and English version for Beijing. People can zoom in to clearly see every street of the three cities. As for the English version, the dynamic map features special columns on four hot topics, including the Olympic competition venues, Olympic-licensed stores, subway stations, and traditional accommodation in Beijing-hutongs. The map also serves as a practical city guide with 12 wide-ranging categories of classified information available on it, including information on government institutions, health and medical facilities, academies, entertainment, media, shopping, real estate, chambers, sports venues, scenic spots, catering, and hotels and restaurants. Each category is divided into several sub-categories to help identify the potential needs of the map's users. The "shopping" column, for instance, comprises shopping malls, supermarkets, shopping centers, furniture stores, bookstores and others. In the run-up to the 2008 Olympic Games, BOCOG has promised that more information and functions will be integrated into the map and more foreign language versions are also expected to be launched. Schools Tie the Knot for Olympics Beijing No.2 Railway Middle School and the Pakkred School of Thailand have been paired under the Heart-to-Heart Partnership Program to support the Beijing Olympics. This program is part of the 2008 Beijing Olympic Education Program, for which the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad and the Ministry of Education have jointly selected more than 200 primary and secondary schools in Beijing to partner with schools around the world. "Getting to know one another in person and enjoying the activities together will create understanding and friendship among both teachers and students of Pakkred School and Beijing No.2 Railway Middle School," said Rathakit Manathat, Thailand's Ambassador to China, on November 22 at a ceremony held in Beijing No.2 Railway Middle School to mark the formal launch of the two schools' partnership. The Heart-to-Heart Partnership Program will help Chinese students understand more about Thailand and bring "a piece of Thailand" closer to China in support of the 2008 Olympic Games, he added. During the Olympic Games, Beijing No.2 Railway Middle School will greet the Thai athletic delegation at the Olympic Village and support Thai athletes at competition sessions. Geng Zenghai, Principal of Beijing No.2 Railway Middle School, proposed a number of exchange projects in music, art and handicrafts. Even after the Olympic Games, the two schools should continue their partnership relations to deepen the China-Thailand friendship, he said.