Mark Thompson, Director-General of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), praises on Saturday the "exciting" opening ceremony of the Beijing Olympics and a China increasingly open to the world.

"I guess every opening ceremony of the Olympic Games is amazing, but everything I've seen and heard last night is the most dramatic, exciting and impressive in the history of the Olympic Games." said Thompson, who came here for the Games.

He said the opening ceremony was an extraordinarily confident presentation of Chinese civilization and culture, and it created a welcoming atmosphere for the rest of the world.

"I know the British people also thought it was the most spectacular start to the Olympic Games."

Thompson said the world's most populous country was attracting more and more attentions as it developed quickly.

"Each time I come back to Beijing, it's amazing how far and how quickly Beijing is changing, and clearly China is changing. There is intense interest in China in the UK and around the world because of the speed of its development," he said.

Thompson said the future of China and that of the rest of the world were more closely bonded than they'd ever been, and the Beijing Olympic Games "marks an interesting watershed - there is no question China has been more open to foreign media than at any point in the history."

There is every reason to believe the Olympic Games will increase global interest in China, he said, adding that it would give the audiences across the world a new insight into the aspiration of Chinese people.

"Because of the next Olympics will be in London in 2012, we're interested in every aspect of the Beijing Olympic Games and the evidence so far indicates the quality of the organization is very fine indeed, " Thompson said.

Not BBC alone but the international media as a whole has been very, very impressed by the quality of the facilities available and the "ease with which we could cover the Games," he added.

The glittering opening ceremony inside the new National Stadium, or Bird's Nest, in the capital, was witnessed by more than 100,000 people in the stands and billions in China and around the world as it was live broadcast.

(Xinhua News Agency August 9, 2008)