A senior official with the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) said here Friday that more than 20,000 torch bearers are to be chosen around the world.

Liu Jingmin, executive vice chairman of the BOCOG, said at a press conference that preparations for the Olympic torch relay both in China and the rest of the world are going on smoothly.

The number of torch bearers would be 21,880 for the 137,000 km torch relay, the organizing committee revealed previously. Specifically, the torch will be relayed to the Mount Qomolangma.

Liu said he saw no problem for Chinese mountaineers to scale the world's summit for the torch relay, noting Chinese athletes have advantages in mountaineering, a sport that has more than 40 years of history in China.

"Many Chinese athletes, men and women, have climbed up the mount. Some reached the peak more than once," he said.

There are two ways of becoming a torch bearer, Jiang Xiaoyu, executive vice president of the BOCOG, said earlier. The first one is through recommendations by various institutions, and other is an open process in which public recommendations are accepted.

In addition, 5,000 escort runners will be selected on the Chinese mainland exclusively for the relay.

(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2007)