"To make more customers get access to Olympics, we will attach attention to from now on medium- and low-cost Olympic products in the market, "an officer said a few days ahead of 500 days to Beijing Games.

"For instance, the average price of an Olympic T-shirt of popular style and with the countdown logo won't exceed 58 yuan, almost 20 yuan less than the previously similar category", Tang Yonghong, Licensing Division chief of BOCOG Marketing Department gives an example.

As the official promise, in the run-up to Olympic Games, Beijing 2008 Licensing Program was trying to ensure the proportion of Olympic products sold at a price advantageous to the buyers.

However, some considered the low-cost promotion would effect in quality of Olympic merchandises, which raised doubts of whether it can guarantee the products.

"To lower the price didn't indicate to lower the quality accordingly", he stressed.

Early this month, BOCOG has announced to unveiled new licensed products into the market under the 500-day countdown theme on March 24, when the newly-designed mascot Fuwa adornments, commemorative badges that limited to 10,000 and global first set of Olympic spherical puzzle granted world patent will make their full debut.

In the future stage of the Olympic licensing Program, there will have issued more countdown-themed Olympic products on 400 days, one-year, and 100 days, according to BOCOG's marking plan.

(China Daily March 21, 2007)