Stars pose for a group photo during a press conference for TVB's Olympic reporting team in Hong Kong on July 28, 2008. [Tungstar]

Hong Kong entertainers Carol Cheng, Hacken Lee and Alex Fong are among a dozen celebrities who are set to update local citizens with the latest news from Beijing during next month's Olympics.

The stars, representing Hong Kong's leading broadcaster TVB, will join thousands of journalists in Beijing during the August 8-24 Games, Wen Wei Po reported on Tuesday.

On Monday TVB rallied members of its Olympic reporting team before their departure for Beijing.

Veteran actress Carol Cheng, who will be the major host in TVB's Beijing studio, expressed her excitement, saying that she felt both honored and lucky to take the job and was enhancing her Olympic knowledge.

Hacken Lee, who will be a guest host, has to leave behind his nine-month-old son in Hong Kong, but he thought "it is a rare opportunity, and my son will understand."

Other participating stars include former Miss Hong Kong winners Shirley Yeung and Kayi Cheung.

TVB has invested 80 million Hong Kong dollars (US$10.26 million) in an effort to cover the Olympics around the clock. Its studio at the International Broadcast Center in Beijing, where the star reporters will be based, stretches 700 square meters, according to a report by Xinhua News Agency.

Besides the Beijing studio, there will be one in Hong Kong, chaired by veteran entertainer Natalis Chan.

(CRI July 30, 2008)