A super-sized ward for athletes, offering a floor space of more than 100 square meters, will be opened for a trial period from May in the China-Japan Friendship Hospital in Beijing.

The ward will have specially large beds for athletes, many of whom are unusually tall, in case they are hurt or fall ill during the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, hospital officials said in Beijing on Wednesday.

In addition, work on 62 other facilities especially for athletes will be completed by the end of April.

Hospital officials said there would be a 4 kilometer special "green channel" to ensure that athletes could reach the hospital within 10 minutes of leaving the National Stadium "Bird's Nest" during the Games.

Athletes would be diagnosed in a confidential room so they would not have to deal with media queries during the process, the officials said.

The China-Japan Friendship Hospital is only one of the 22 top hospitals of Beijing designated for the Olympics. The Beijing Union Medical College Hospital will provide services for officials coming for the Games and Beijing Anzhen Hospital will serve reporters covering the Games。

(Xinhua News Agency January 17, 2008)