More than 15,000 American newspaper and magazine journalists want to be in Beijing in 2008 to cover the Olympic Games. The huge demand leaves Robert Condron, director of media services of the US Olympic Committee, in somewhat of a dilemma.

He only has 450 accreditation cards for print media to hand out.

"For the United States, we probably have three to four times the amount of accreditation applications than we have," Condron said.

China's fast-growing economy and the revolution in people's lifestyles has aroused huge interest in the West.

International news agencies, such as Associated Press (AP) and Reuters, are already planning their Games coverage.

"We are planning to double the size of our staff in Beijing in advance of the Games but to continue after the Games," Thomas Curley, president and chief executive officer of AP, recently said.

AP will send 250 people to cover the Games and another influential world news agency Reuters is following suit. "We will make our biggest presence at the Games next year," said Nick Mulvenney, Sports correspondent from Reuters Beijing Bureau. He expects his team to be as big as AP.

The veteran British sports journalist came to the capital last February to become the first Reuters sports correspondent in the Beijing Bureau.

"It will be a unique Olympics, because China has put in much effort in preparing for the Games."

Related readings: Journalism site to encourage exchanges, public oversight Foreign media tour Beijing Olympic venues Virgin Media begins 'small scale' rollout BOCOG gets new blood for media operations Publicity head stresses role of Internet 'Spy' course planned Advertisement: CGEN in demand From the widely read Chinese media 'Serve the media, not manage them'

"We will plan more stories and special programs on China in the coming months and years," said Jaime FlorCruz, CNN Beijing Bureau Chief.

The focus is not just sports. With the "unusual historical perspectives" and long relationship it has had with China since 1900, AP will invest nearly a half its resources in China into the cultural and social side of the country.

"We will hopefully be able to cover a lot of the cultural side of life in China, get to know China better, and get to know the Chinese people better and what their hopes are," said AP chief Thomas Curley.

FlorCruz's CNN team has a similar plan. "Before the Olympics, we are interested to cover how China is changing, in part because of the Olympics.

"We wish to look not just on the physical changes, but also focus on the changes in the people's mindset and lifestyles."

China is preparing to meet the increasing demand from foreign media on the coverage before and during the Games, as well honor the promises of press freedom made during Beijing's bid.

A set of regulations on reporting activities in China by foreign journalists during the Games and the preparatory period were issued on December 1, 2006.

Under the new rules, foreign journalists no longer need to gain approval from government officials for interviews as long as they obtain the consent from the interviewees.

"We welcome the revised regulations which now give us, foreign journalists, freer access to report on all aspects of China," said FlorCruz.

Many foreign correspondents in China, including those from CNN and Reuters, took immediate action to test the new rules and the trials proved successful in the capital.

"It is an improvement in China's media policy," said Hu Zhengrong, who is an expert in Chinese media policy making.