1. Wide, pan exterior of National Stadium

2. International Olympic Committee (IOC) officials arriving at the construction site

3. IOC officials at the construction site, tilt up

4. Construction workers

5. IOC officials watching construction

6. Close up, Hein Verbruggen, president of Coordination Commission of Beijing 2008 Olympics with IOC official Wu Ching Kuo

7. Wide of construction site

8. SOUNDBITE: (English), Hein Verbruggen, president of IOC Coordination Commission for the Beijing Olympic Games:

"Of course we are very impressed to see all these, seeing it now becoming closer and closer to be running and achieved. It's wonderful, it's a great experience, almost emotional. "

9. Exterior, National Aquatic Centre

10. Close up, membrane covering the National Aquatic Centre

11. Interior of National Aquatic Centre

12. IOC officials inside the National Aquatic Centre

13. Wide of interior National Aquatic Centre

14. Construction workers

15. Close up Verbruggen

16 Photo-op with IOC officials in front of the National Aquatic Centre

17. SOUNDBITE: (Mandarin), Wu Ching Kuo, Taiwan IOC official:

"The torch relay represents a message of peace and Olympics. Everyone (in Taiwan) is looking forward ardently to its coming. I hope it (torch relay in Taiwan) will be a very successful and very merry thing."

18. Interior, 8th Coordination meeting between IOC and Beijing Organising Commission for 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG)

19. IOC delegation

20. BOCOG president Liu Qi speaking

21. SOUNDBITE: (English), Hein Verbruggen, President of IOC Coordination Commission for the Beijing Olympic Games:

"Much still remain to be done. The focus must be maintained on our joint objectives, giving the athletes of the world a global platform here in Beijing from which their sporting feats and the Olympic Spirit in which they achieve then can be marvelled at by people in China and abroad."

22. Various, Verbruggen playing table tennis with Liu Qi

With less than 500 days to go until the opening ceremony of Beijing Olympics on 8 August 2008, officials from the International Olympic Committee have been inspecting progress at the new national stadium.

Hein Verbruggen, head of the IOC delegation said that he is impressed by the construction works.

"It's wonderful, it's a great experience, almost emotional," he told journalists.

The IOC Coordination Commission, chaired by Verbruggen, was in Beijing for its eighth session.

Officials were briefed at the construction site of the main venue, the National Stadium, nick-named the Bird's Nest, that 90 percent of the construction is finished and the Stadium will be ready by April next year.

During this visit, the Commission are also looking at a number of functional areas of the Beijing Organising Commission for 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG), including the environment, human resources, medical and technology, which will all be crucial to successful operations at Games time.

However, the principal focus of the Commission's meetings will be on the services for different groups such as the athletes, the media, the National Olympic Committees and the spectators.

One of the highlights of the opening ceremony will be a torch and China has said it will travel in every province of China, raising potential diplomatic difficulties in Taiwan, considered by China as an inalienable part of its territory.

But Wu Ching Kuo, an IOC official from Taiwan, said the Taiwan people are looking forward to the coming of the Olympic torch.

"The torch relay represents a message of peace and Olympics. I hope it will be a very successful and a very happy thing." he said.

Liu Qi, president of BOCOG, said details of the relay will be released on 26 April 2007.

The new venues are part of a mammoth project to rebuild Beijing, which is reportedly spending between 40 (b) billion US dollars and and 160 (b) billion US dollars on infrastructure, including subways, roads and sprawling blocks of new glass towers.

About 500,000 foreign visitors and 20,000 journalists are expected to attend the 2008 Olympics.