(BEIJING, July 31) -- More than 560,000 people have registered as Games-time volunteers for the Beijing Olympic Games and Paralympic Games since the recruitment kicked off on August 28, 2006, the BOCOG Volunteer Department said on Tuesday.

As of July 30, a total of 561,296 have applied to become Games-time volunteers, of whom 318,189 are from Beijing, 206,441 from other provinces and municipalities and 36,666 from Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan and overseas, the department said.

The recruitment has been characterized by an enthusiastic participation of young people and women, and the high educational background of the applicants.

97.9 percent of the applicants are under 36 years old, 1.6 percent between 37 and 51 years old and only 0.5 percent over 51 years old. As far as the gender proportion is concerned, 58.1 percent are women. The undergraduates and the people with higher educational background constitute 82.5 percent.

The number of applicants has far surpassed demand. The 2008 Olympic Games need 70,000 Games-time volunteers and the Paralympic Games 30,000. It is reported that the number of the volunteer applicants is unprecedented in the history of the Olympic Games.

The BOCOG department said in the next step, it will interact with the applicants in the form of e-mail, letter, telephone conversation and invite them to take part in article and photo contest and charitable activities.

Meanwhile, part of the applicants will be enrolled as volunteers for the 2007 Good Luck Beijing sports events. "The aim is to prepare volunteers and accumulate experiences for the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics," an official of the department said.

Progress has been made also in the recruitment of specialized volunteers for the Beijing Olympics. Over 30,000 such volunteers have been designated and some 5,000 of them will offer voluntary services for the Good Luck Beijing events in 2007. The service areas include VIP escort, translation, media operations, driving, security checks, accommodation, sport presentation and award ceremony, competition organization, medical services, time and score keeping as well as religious service assistance.

At the moment, some 50,000 volunteer applicants have undergone generalized training and over 20,000 specialized volunteer applicants received professional training. With the Olympics approaching, the volunteer training is going in depth, BOCOG officials said.