Sports fans are stocking up on food at home so that they do not have to go out to eat when their favorite Olympic event is on TV.

"I have bought a lot of food, including duck and chicken wings," Wang Jing, a university student, said.

"I have also stocked up on soft drinks, tea and ice cream," she said. "The gymnastic competitions are my favorite," she said.

Carrefour, the largest foreign retailer in China, said sales of snacks and beer have increased significantly since the start of the Games.

The sale of snacks at the supermarket's Fangyuan branch in Beijing has risen by nearly 16 percent in the past two weeks. Prunes, in particular, have seen a 60 percent growth in sales.

Foreign visitors to China have increased the sale of imported beers, Carrefour said.

More people are also buying food from online stores to save time.

Taobao.com, a popular online market, said intra-city transactions have increased by more than 20 percent.

Shanghai, Beijing and Hangzhou have seen the most significant growth. Various kinds of nuts and pastries top the list.

"Buying food online saves people the trouble of going to supermarkets. It also gives people more time to watch the Games on TV," Qiao Peilei, a press officer with Taobao, said.

However, business has not been good for all online stores.

One retailer who calls himself jidong888, and sells goods imported from South Korea, said his business is seeing a downturn because he is not allowed to sell beverages online due to security concerns.

(China Daily August 19, 2008)