A multi-language services hotline 16882008 was launched Sunday in Olympic co-host city Qingdao in a bid to provide mother tongues services to troubled visiting foreigners.

Call center of the hotline debuted Sunday morning in the Creative 100 Cultural Industrial Park of Qingdao, where volunteer operators would answer the calls made by language-troubled foreigners, giving directions or acquired information about traveling routes, weather forecast and sailing events schedule.

The round-the-clock services, provided by 108 volunteers selected from teachers, college students or citizens returning from overseas were in seven languages of English, Korean, Japanese, German, French, Russian and Spanish.

The services would last from July 27th to the end of September, when the Beijing Paralympic Games were over.

Beijing Olympic sailing events will to be held in Qingdao from August 9th to 23rd and the Paralympic sailing events from September 8th to 13th. 

(Xinhua News Agency July 28.2008)