Ten families, five of them from China and the rest from Argentina, Germany, South Africa and the United States, began their one-week journey to Beijing and the 2008 Olympic co-hosting cities Qingdao and Hong Kong on Tuesday. [Photo: CRIENGLISH.com]

The world is a big Olympic family, composed of numerous small families. Each family has its own story, but they all have a common interest, the Olympics. This is probably the meaning of the Beijing Olympics slogan - "One World, One Dream". It is also the aim of the "Olympic Family Tour of Beijing".

Reporter: Ten families, five of them from China and the rest from Argentina, Germany, South Africa and the United States, began their one-week journey to Beijing and the 2008 Olympic co-hosting cities Qingdao and Hong Kong on Tuesday.

The ten families were selected from the online "Olympic Families Tour of Beijing" competition, which was conducted in the past 3 months by the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee (BOCOG).

To participate in the program, families around the world need to set up a blog on the official 2008 Olympics website at www.beijing2008.cn. They post stories and pictures on their blogs to show the charms of their families and to gain popularities.

The ten winning families have interesting blog names such as "Love of Olympics" by a family from China, "Go Hong Kong" by a family from South Africa and "Go to Beijing" by a family from the United States.

Peter, from "Greenlink" family of Germany, says he has been living and working in Beijing for 5 years and even did landscape projects for the Olympic Park. He explains how he got the blog name "Greenlink".

"We understand ourselves as a link, as a connection between Germany and China for landscaping and also environmental protection."

Sheleph, from the South African family "Go Hong Kong", says that she has an equestrian family and has won many awards in international competitions. When asked if she was looking forward to watch horse racing in Hong Kong, she was almost too excited to speak:

"It's my dream! It's my dream yes! My husband said we must come now to see if we can maybe talk to somebody and see if it is possible for us to get the tickets for next year, than I can see the Equestrian Olympics in Hong Kong."

A teenage boy, Wang Yinan, is from the Chinese family "Five Family Members Seeing Olympics." He is good at painting and has drawn many pictures for Sydney Olympic Games. When asked which city to which he was most eager to travel, he said:

"I think all the cities are excellent but I am more eager for Qingdao, because I think Qingdao is closer to nature and I have a longing to try sailing."

Mr. Jacques Rogge, President of the International Olympics Committee, sent a good luck message for the families selected to tour the Olympic cities. He hopes that the families will have exciting adventures and that their Olympic dreams will come true.