Liu Qi(L3), President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG), Jacques Rogge(R3), President of International Olympic Committee, Chen Zhili(R2), BOCOG first vice president and Hein Verbruggen(L2), chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, attend the One-Year-to-Go Meeting of Beijing Olympic volunteers on Tuesday on August 7, 2007. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

Smiling is a global gesture. Beijing Olympic volunteers joining in a smiling campaign aim to turn the capital into a city of smiles to greet friends from across the world.

Reporter: A One-Year-to-Go Meeting of Beijing Olympic volunteers was held on Tuesday just one day before China starts counting down the 365 days to the start of 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on August 8.

With the slogan"2008, Set out with a Smile!" the ceremony was attended by more than 10 officials from the Beijing municipal government and International Olympic Committee(IOC).

At the ceremony, Liu Qi, President of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 29th Olympic Games (BOCOG), and Jacques Rogge, President of IOC conferred the Olympic volunteer flag to the volunteer representatives.

Chen Zhili, BOCOG first vice president and Hein Verbruggen, chairman of the IOC Coordination Commission for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, jointly released the commemorative envelope for the Olympics, with mottos on it written by Liu Qi and Jacques Rogge.

Attendees also put on smile-themed wristbands for volunteers.

The "smile" wristbands are a series of soft plastic bands in the five Olympic colours. They are designed for the Beijing 2008 Olympic volunteers and are printed with the Olympic volunteer logo and the slogan "A smile is the best calling card for Beijing."

More than 600 volunteers also took an oath to do as best as they can to enrich the Olympic Games.

The ceremony was jointly launched by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games and Beijing Olympic Games Volunteer Work Coordination Group.

According to BOCOG,by August 6, nearly 560,000 people had submitted applications since the volunteer recruitment drive began in August last year along with a "Smile Beijing" volunteer campaign. University students have formed the backbone of the volunteers.

Wang Wensi, is a freshman from Beijing Forestry University. She said it is meaningful to take part in the volunteer program.

"China has realized its century-old dream to host the Olympics. It is a very precious opportunity for China. We are lucky to catch up with the 2008 Olympics when we are at college. So we want to contribute our own efforts to the Beijing Olympics."

As a smile is the symbol of Beijing volunteers, Wang said she hopes smiling can help her make foreign friends visiting Beijing during the Games to feel at home.

"We want to make our smile affect everyone and spread our happiness to every corner of the world. We want everybody in the world to know the Beijing Olympic is of great significance to them."

After the ceremony, volunteers were divided into several groups and set off for the Olympic venues and surrounding areas to beautify the environment. They also advocated "Green Commuting", publicised Olympic-related knowledge and the concept of volunteering to passers-by as well as helping direct traffic.

In March this year, the Beijing Volunteers Association and Beijing Olympic Games Volunteer Work Coordination Group jointly proposed a weekend beautification campaign to promote the Green Olympics.

The campaign has mobilized volunteers from all walks of life, including teenagers, senior citizens, migrant workers and social workers to beautify their surroundings, aiming to call on Beijing citizens to save resources and take care of the urban environment.

Beijing plans to enlist 100,000 volunteers for the Olympics and Paralympics Games. A further 400,000 others will man 2,000 service stations around the city to offer the public travel information, translation services and emergency aid.