The release of the third film in The Mummy franchise - The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor - has been pushed back by nearly a month to August 1, 2008.

The Universal Pictures' project, which revolves around China's first Emperor of Qin, is expected to share the glory of the 2008 Olympic Games, which start in Beijing on August 8.

The emperor, played by Chinese Kung Fu star Jet Li, is actually the mummy in the film. He is a shape-shifting entity who was cursed centuries ago by a witch, portrayed by Malaysian actress Michelle Yeoh.

The witch will try her best to defeat the mummy and his mummy troops, who were unearthed by a foreign adventurer and his son.

Some of the film was shot in Xi'an's famed terra cotta warriors museum, making it the first Hollywood production that has been allowed to shoot in the Chinese museum renowned for its life-sized statues.

(CRI.cn July 28, 2007)