Nearly 40 percent of volunteers who were serving the on-going Olympic Games would join next month's Paralympics in Beijing, according to the Chinese organizer on Monday.

At present, more than 74,000 volunteers were currently serving the Games in Beijing, including 320 overseas Chinese, 219 from Hong Kong, 84 from Macao and 74 from Taiwan, as well as many from foreign countries, said Li Shixin, vice director of the Volunteers Department of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

Liu Jian, BOCOG's volunteer department head, said at a press conference the eldest volunteer was 103, but about 70 percent were young people. They came from all walks of life.

"Our volunteers are serving guests from all around the world with their hearty smiles and professional skills."

Some of the volunteers, especially those in the National Stadium, wept over a shattered Chinese track dream on Monday morning when 2004 Athens gold medalist Liu Xiang pulled out of his first-round heat with injury. But they maintained a professional service even though they lost their smile for a while.

"I love watching the Games and I also love helping people. Now I am a volunteer, I can do both of them," said an Iranian named Hooman, a doctoral student at Beijing University of Chinese Medicine.

The young man had also volunteered in his home country. After the devastating Sichuan earthquake on May 12, he applied to volunteer in the quake zone but was not able to go there.

"The Beijing Olympics offered me a good chance. I can serve the guests not only with my medical expertise but with my knowledge of Beijing. I told them people here are very nice and the food is terrific," he said.

At Monday's press conference, Liu praised all the volunteers, from both home and abroad, for their diligent work.

"Some of them suffered sunburn because they had to work outdoors day after day. But they hardly complained."

(Xinhua News Agency August 18, 2008)