BEIJING, Nov. 5 (Xinhua) -- Olympic ticket sales will resume next month and tickets will be allocated by a random draw after huge demand forced the suspension of sales on a first come, first-serve basis last week, organizers said on Monday.

Residents of mainland China can submit applications to buy the 1.8 million tickets between Dec. 10 and Dec. 30, according to a statement posted on BOCOG's official website (www.beijing2008.cn).

The date of the lottery would be announced later, said the statement.

"The ticketing policy modifications aim to reflect a people-oriented policy and to adhere to principles of fairness, impartiality, and convenience to the public," BOCOG said in the statement.

A total of seven million tickets for the Aug. 8-24 Games are available to the general public with nearly three quarters reserved for domestic sales.

Only 43,000 tickets were sold last week. The first batch of 1.6million tickets were allocated by lottery earlier this year.