BEIJING, March 23 (Xinhuanet) -- Beijing Olympic organizers said on Tuesday that they are soon to launch a global search for the mascot design for the 2008 Games.

    "The selection will start within the first half of this year," Jiang Xiaoyu, vice president of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG), told a press conference here.

    Like the Olympic emblem, which is entitled "Chinese Seal-Dancing Beijing", the mascot will be selected in an "open" and "fair" process.

    "The solicitation and appraisal of mascot designs is expected to complete by the end of this year," said Jiang.

    "But the mascot will not be unveiled until it gains the approval from the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and BOCOG finishes the trademark registration," he added.

    Several animals, including South China tiger, Tibetan antelope and Monkey King, a legendary money figure in Chinese culture, havebeen proposed as the mascot for the first-ever Olympic Games to beheld in China.

    "The mascot should be a symbol of China and well accepted by the world," said Sun Weijia, deputy director of BOCOG's Media and Communications Department.

    Sun said the trademark issue is an important factor in choosing the mascot, hinting that some animal figures might not be considered amid worries about possible infringement of proprietaryrights.

    Working together with the China Disabled Persons' Federation (CDPF), BOCOG is seeking a logo for the 2008 Paralympics which will also be staged in Beijing.

    "The emblem for the 2008 Paralympics will be unveiled at the closing ceremony of the Athens Paralympics on September 28," said Jiang.

    Jiang said BOCOG would continue to seek the theme song for the 2008 Games and announce the second batch of candidate songs in the end of this year.

    Last year, BOCOG launched a five-year program to seek the themesong on an annual basis till the end of 2007. Some 10 songs are chosen each year and the theme song will eventually emerge from the yearly winners. Enditem