A total of 100 volunteers from the Tibet Autonomous Region left Lhasa for Beijing on Friday to serve at the Beijing Olympics and Paralympics, the Tibet Daily reported on its website.

These Tibetan volunteers were selected from 2,525 competitors. Of them, 80 would work for the Olympics and the remainders for the Paralympics.

Some 91 percent of the volunteers had bachelor degrees or higher. There were 69 ethnic minority volunteers, including 64 Tibetans, said the report.

All of them had, since March, received comprehensive professional training, including first aid, decorum education and other service skills. Their last training program on fire prevention and fighting ended on Thursday afternoon.

"We would like to show the smile from the City of Sunshine (Lhasa) to people from all over the world," said Yang Xia, a student volunteer from Tibet University.

"We are ready to display the spirit of volunteers. We will provide high-quality service to the audience during the Games," she said.

Another volunteer Dong Shuna, who would serve at the Paralympic Games, said, "The requirement for the Paralympic Games volunteers is somewhat higher, as volunteers should know sign language."

"Now I have learned basic sign language, and will keep practising when we arrive in Beijing," she added.

Approximately 500,000 volunteers will serve at the Games. Of them, 100,000 will provide services at Games venues, the Olympic Village and media centers. The remaining 400,000 "social volunteers" will help provide information, translation, emergency aid, and so on around the city.

(Xinhua News Agency August 1, 2008)