Olympic torch to get Everest trial run

The Olympic torch is expected to reach the summit of Mount Everest a year early.
    Having promised to take the torch relay over the world's highest peak, Beijing 2008 Olympic organizers now say the complex undertaking will get a trial run later this year, state media reported.

BEIJING — The Olympic torch is expected to reach the summit of Mount Everest a year early.
    Having promised to take the torch relay over the world's highest peak, Beijing 2008 Olympic organizers now say the complex undertaking will get a trial run later this year, state media reported.
    ''The torch will be designed specifically in order to burn at such a high altitude,'' Liu Jingmin, Beijing deputy mayor, told the official Xinhua news agency. ''The design is in the final stage.''
    Liu, who is also a vice president of the Beijing organizing committee, said the trial would be performed during a ''safe weather'' period and would be televised.
    ''This rehearsal will be very important for a successful torch relay,'' Liu added.
    Liu said mountaineers have been training, but he gave no further details about the test to reach the summit of Everest, which lies on the border between China and Nepal.
    Liu said testing the torch relay was one of six goals for 2007, the year leading up to the Olympics.
    He said Olympic venues and training sites should be finished by the end of the year.
    International Olympic Committee officials have praised Beijing for being far ahead of schedule.
    On a visit in October, IOC president Jacques Rogge recognized China's rapid buildup, but urged organizers ''not to take your eye off the ball.''
    Some civic groups and Beijing residents have complained about the frenzied Olympic construction, which has exacerbated severe air pollution and snarled even further the city's chaotic traffic.
    Liu said 26 test events would be held in 2007, but did not offer specific dates. Initial plans call for most of them to be held in the second half of the year.
    The plans are also expected to include rehearsals of the opening and closing ceremonies, Liu said. He said recruitment of volunteers would be completed by the end of 2007, and administrative procedures to manage the games would also be finalized this year.

— The Associated Press