Photo taken on December 2, 2007 shows the Olympic Village under construction. (Photo credit: China Foto Press)

(BEIJING, January 23) -- The international area of the Beijing Olympic Village will have a courtyard-shaped commercial area, according to the village's secretary-general Wu Jingmi.

The nine vice-directors and 40 plus managers of the village's managing team will be in charge of accommodations, catering, transport, security and media operations, covering as many as 59 sections, he told the official website of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games recently.

In providing internationally standardized services, the Beijing Olympic and Paralympic Villages will also try to highlight their Chinese character, he said. In addition to banks, shopping facilities, tea houses and coffee shops, the Beijing Olympic Village will offer a commercial facility tailored like a traditional Beijing Siheyuan -- a courtyard surrounding by houses. At the entrance of the village, Chinese elements will also be seen, he said.

Various art performances, including Chinese traditional arts, will be staged at the flag-raising square at the international area. At the "Peace Square" of the village, Taiji boxing and other Chinese martial arts will be performed to let athletes from other countries experience Beijingers' morning exercises, Wu added.

Normal beds at the village would measure 1mx2m, but the one for Yao Ming might be as big as 2mx4m; it may even be larger if needed, he said.

Another feature of the specially made beds is that they have six "legs" instead of the normal four. "These beds will endure athlete's bounces if they try to do so," he joked.

The main restaurant in the village contains seating for 5,000 guests and offers 24-hour-service for a variety of dishes.

The 600-sq-meter religious service facility can meet the demands of various worshippers.

The Olympic Village (in operation from July 27 to August 27) will convert to the Paralympic Village (in operation from August 30 to September 20) in 26 hours, Wu said. "Actually, the Paralympic Village will receive Paralympic officials in advance on August 28," he said.

The village can do this because all necessary accessible hardware facilities have been taken into consideration from the very beginning of the construction of the Olympic Village.