China's towering NBA basketball sensation Yao Ming will play in an exhibition game in Hong Kong next month, as part of the city's relaunch campaign after the SARS crisis, a report said.

Houston Rockets star Yao Ming will be joined by fellow giant centre Menk Bateer, who signed for the NBA's Toronto Raptors on Friday, in an exhibition game that will see China's national team take on Australia's Melbourne Tigers on August 6.

However, it is not certain whether Wang Zhizhi, the third member of China's "Walking Great Wall" that dominated Asian basketball, will be part of the team.

Yao, who was the third Chinese player to star in the United States' National Basketball Association (NBA) after Wang and Menk, has made a huge impact since arriving last year after being selected as the NBA's number one draft pick in 2002.

The 2.26m giant Yao was selected for the prestigious All-Star game in his first NBA season and turned the Rockets into playoff contenders.

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