Beijing started on Friday to solicit slogans for its volunteer program of the 2008 Olympics.

The deadline is August 31, 20 06, said the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee (BOCOG).

"The slogan should be in line with the concept of Beijing Olympic volunteer program -- 'service first harmony first' and highlight the striking features of the times and the Chinese culture," Wang Minghao, an official in charge of the Olympic volunteer program, told a press conference on Friday.

"It should also reflect the idea that volunteers' smiles are the best name card of Beijing, carry an international perspective so that people from different countries and regions and of different cultural backgrounds can understand it.

"And it should be brief, rhythmic, easy to remember, inspiring and appealing," he added.

About 100,000 volunteers will serve the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics.

Beijing launched its Olympic volunteer program last June but the recruitment process will not get underway until August this year.

(Xinhua News Agency March 31, 2006)