Beijing had asked to postpone the event from the end of July and beginning of August -- the time set by the committee -- to later August for fear of the hot weather.

"That is a very hot period in the city so indeed there is a proposal of Beijing Organizing Committee for Games of the XXIX Olympiad to go a little bit later in the month of August," said Hein Verbruggen, president of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Beijing Olympics.

The period set by the IOC is normally the city's hottest time and the temperature can often hit 35 degrees Celsius or higher.

"We have asked for more details to back the proposal up," Verbruggen said.

But he said this "can't be decided easily" because of the impact on the international sport events calendar. He added that the IOC executive board would make a decision "very, very probably" at the end of February.

Verbruggen was in Beijing as head of a 16-member co-ordination commission for a three-day working session with the Chinese side. The commission ended its visit Wednesday.

The two sides had talks on major Olympic topics, including venue construction, marketing, the environment and accommodation.

The commission also stressed Wednesday that the Olympics would see some cost-cutting, which could lead to several Olympic sports being dropped from the Beijing Games. The IOC will vote on the proposed cuts after the 2004 Athens Games.

Beijing officials were receptive to the cuts proposals, although these would entail considerable changes to Olympic preparations.

"Being frugal is always one of our main principles in running the Olympics," said Jiang Xiaoyu, vice-president of the Beijing organizing committee.

(China Daily December 5, 2002)