Guo Benmin at the launching ceremony

(BEIJING, December 4) -- "It only takes a minute to create Olympic history!"

Campaign organizers of the Beijing Games are giving every Chinese citizen a chance to be a central part of the Olympics. By merely contributing a piece of DV work, you may be chosen to take part in the creation of the official film for the 2008 Beijing Olympics.

From December 7, 2007 to March 24, 2008, the participants can register on the campaign's official website (www.2008officialfilm.com) or the website of Sohu.com (www.sohu.com) to upload a short DV film displaying their creative ideas about the Olympic Games. Once entered, they will have an opportunity to be chosen as one of the six lucky contestants to join in the shooting of the official Olympic film, allowing them to witness the entire process of the Beijing Olympic Games. The DV piece only needs to be about one minute in length.

The creation team of the official film includes Chief Director Gu Yun; Chief Consultant Bud Greenspan; and Chief Photographer Gu Changwei. They will offer their professional comments based on feedback from website users to select the six finalists. The winners will each be given free photography training and 100,000 yuan for creation expenses. They will also be able to follow the official filming team as they attend the Olympic Games.

The organizers will also offer mobile phones, DV cameras and other prizes to the most active, and/or lucky, participants. These people will be chosen weekly according to the quality of their DV entries and the assessment of web users.

"Our campaign is aimed at the participation of everybody in the Olympic Games," Guo Benmin, Vice Director of the China Central Newsreel and Documentary Film Studio told those present at a launching ceremony on Tuesday.

It is a well-established tradition, dating back to the 1912 Stockholm Olympic Games, that each Olympiad produces an official movie. The movies are a part of a precious collection saved by the Lausanne-headquartered International Olympic Committee.

The shooting of the 22nd official Olympic film, entitled The Beijing Olympic Games, started at the National Stadium, or the "Bird's Nest" on August 5, 2007.

It will register the historic moments of the torch relay, the opening and closing ceremonies, the preparation and participation of athletes of various countries, all within an Olympic-themed framework.