Haier Group will establish a new primary school in China for each Chinese gold medeallist during the 2008 Olympics and name it after the champion next summer.

Haier, China's leading white-appliance manufacturer known for its high-end fridges and washing machines, is an official sponsor of the Beijing Games and, as such, aims to capitalize on this relationship by spreading the Olympic spirit and internationalizing its image.

The group announced a new sponsorship plan earlier this month.

"Since signing the contract with the Beijing Olympic organizing committee in August 2005, Haier has taken the responsibility of being one of the hosts of the Olympic Games," said Zhou Yunjie, vice-president of Haier. "We will successively inherit and spread the Olympic spirit by supporting the Games."

The group will also conduct an "Olympic city tour", which will cover 100 cities in 2008 with sports-related activities for as many people as possible to take part in. Meanwhile, a "caravan tour" will visit 200,000 counties and villages in rural China to hold Olympic exhibitions.

Haier Group has already helped establish 78 primary schools for poor children with an investment of nearly 160 million yuan ($21 million).

Each of the Chinese Olympic champions at the 2008 Games will also be rewarded with a set of household appliances.

Haier also plans to help furnish the Olympic venues and training bases for the Chinese athletes.

"We will send over 70 different kinds of appliances to help with the training of the Chinese athletes and we will also provide 'green' products for over 30 Olympic venues, such as the 'Bird's Nest', 'Water Cube' and the Olympic sailing regatta in Qingdao," Zhou said.

Haier has supplied over 25,000 products to the training Chinese Olympic athletes so far.

It will also offer one-stop services for the smooth running of the Games.

It will set up over 70 laundry mats in the Olympic village for athletes and officials, with 200 staff on stand-by to lend a hand. It will also recruit more than 2,000 volunteers from around the world to ensure it delivers high-quality services during the Games.