A giant countdown clock was unveiled Monday in Vancouver to mark the three-year countdown to the opening ceremonies of the 2010 Winter Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"This clock that we unveiled today will remind us not just of the years, the months and the weeks until we actually light that torch, but it will remind us of how incredibly intense this competition is," said Gordon Campbell, Premier of the British Columbia province, at the ceremony at the Vancouver Art Gallery.

The clock, which towers 20-feet high, will count down the remaining days, hours, minutes and seconds to the Opening Ceremonies of the 2010 Olympic and Paralympic Winter Games.

Built by EEC Industries of North Vancouver, the clock comprises three massive columns of steel, Plexiglas and red cedar, from a conceptual design by Vancouver's Karacters Design Group.

The Countdown Clock will take pride of place on the Georgia Street Plaza of the Vancouver Art Gallery, announced Vancouver Organizing Committee CEO John Furlong.

(Xinhua News Agency February 13, 2007)