China has received IOC approval to start negotiating the route for the 2008 Olympic torch relay.
During a presentation to International Olympic Committee members on Thursday, Beijing organizing committee head Liu Qi said the proposed torch route covers 28 overseas cities and 70 on China's mainland.
IOC approval, given earlier this week ahead of the Turin Games, gives Beijing the right to negotiate with overseas Olympic committees, officials with the Beijing committee and the IOC said.
The approval adds to quickening preparations for the Beijing Games. Liu and other officials with China's organizing committee, known as BOCOG, briefed IOC members on Beijing's progress, covering everything from transport to security preparations.
"We have no doubt that BOCOG will deliver in a splendid way," IOC President Jacques Rogge said following Beijing's presentation.
Among the stops Beijing proposed to the IOC last fall is Taiwan.
BOCOG will set up a torch relay team and make contact with other Olympic committees on the proposed torch route this year, BOCOG Vice President Jiang Xiaoyu said.
The torch relay has been plagued with troubles in recent years, from excessively grandiose routes to being targeted by environmental protesters this year. The torch relay was rerouted for at least the third time on Thursday to avoid protesters.
In response, IOC members have suggested that the relay process may have to be reviewed after the Turin Games.
One no-go for the 2008 torch relay would be cities bidding for the 2016 Games, said Gilbert Felli, the IOC's executive director for the Olympics.
At the Turin Games, doping threatened to taint the opening of the Winter Olympics. An Italian official said that several athletes had tested positive for doping in pre-games drugs checks.
Italy meanwhile was securing its boundaries, but the Italian interior minister said there was no indication that international terrorist groups planned attacks in Turin.
But the minister, Giuseppe Pisanu, added that an individual, improvised attack could not be ruled out given heightened tensions in the Muslim world over caricatures depicting the Prophet Muhammad.
The opening ceremony itself was expected to be long on passion and big on fire. Red-bodystockinged rollerbladers with giant flames shooting out the back of their heads were scheduled to zoom around the oval stage Friday night, Turin time.
Their odyssey was meant to symbolize the passion, speed and energy of both Italians and Olympic athletes.
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Producer: Li Yongjing