China

Sydney Olympics minister Michael Knight has said that Beijing has a strong bid for the 2008 games and Australia would be willing to help if China won.
Business

Chinese President Jiang Zemin has met with Special Olympics International (SOI) president Sargent Shriver in Beijing.

The China rally will be included in the world championship next season, International Automobile Federation (FIA) according president Max Mosley.
Business

South Korean President Kim Dae-jung has said he hoped an International Olympic Committee initiative to host sports ties between North and South Korea would eventually lead to joint Korean teams for international competitions.

Events

Leading Olympic official Marc Hodler said he had gone public with his allegations that agents tried to rig votes on the hosting of Games because he did not want Salt Lake City to be seen as "villains".
Sponsorship & Marketing

U.S. agents have arrested three Taiwanese and a U.S. citizen on charges of smuggling millions of dollars worth of counterfeit golf equipment into the United States, the U.S. Customs Service has said.

Lisbon is expected to launch its second bid this year to host a major sports event.
Business

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) has bought up all the outdoor advertising space in Beijing ahead of the Olympic Games which will be held there in 2008 in an attempt to limit the commercialisation of the event.
Business

China plans to launch a special lottery to help finance the 2008 Summer Olympics.
Media

TVB, the free-to-air Hong Kong-based broadcaster, has gained the rights to the UEFA Cup and the European Super Cup for the next three years.

France's world-beating soccer team will come out on Tuesday in support of Paris's bid to host the 2008 Olympic Games.
Events

British Olympic chiefs will meet government ministers today to decide whether London can launch a bid to bring the Olympic Games back to Britain for the first time since 1948.
Business

Nigeria pledged on Thursday that the building of facilities will be completed in time to host the All-Africa Games in 2003.
Business

Germany is considering bidding for the Olympic Games and will unveil details of its plans next week, the German Olympic Committee (NOK) has said.
Events

The Olympic Games have become too big to be hosted by less developed nations and must be scaled back, says senior International Olympic Committee (IOC) official Jacques Rogge.

Western dot com companies are not the only businesses interested in tapping into the Chinese sports sector.
Events

FIFA president Sepp Blatter has urged caution over the possibility of a united Korean soccer team representing the divided peninsula at the finals of the Asian Cup in Lebanon later this year.
Business

The 13th Asian Games have currently earned a total of 5,022 million baht inrevenue.