Former Olympic table tennis champion Lv Lin, the last torch bearer in the Olympic torch relay in southeast China's Zhejiang Province, said on Thursday that the relay delivers love and compassion to the earthquake victims.

"The torch relay passes on the Olympic spirit as well as love to the victims of the deadly earthquake in Sichuan," said Lv.

"It's a relay of love," he added.

The 8.0-magnitude tremor hit the southwestern Sichuan Province on May 12, killing over 50,000 people with the death toll expected to rise.

The Olympic torch relay resumed its journey on Thursday after a three-day mourning period for the quake victims.

(Xinhua News Agency May 23, 2008)