A total of 850 people will be chosen to carry the flame in the shortened torch relay of the 2008 Paralympic Games, with at least 20 percent of the slots being reserved for people with disabilities, the Beijing Organizing Committee (BOCOG) said on Friday.

Love for the Olympic Movement and the Paralympic Games, enthusiasm for the volunteering cause, are among the criteria for an eligible torch bearer, said a BOCOG statement.

Olympic torch bearers will not be able to take part in the Paralympic torch relay, added the statement.

BOCOG has cancelled the international leg of the Paralympic torch relay, which was due to pass through London, Vancouver and Sochi, Russia - venues for the next three Summer and Winter Olympics, following the deadly May 12 earthquake in Sichuan province. Chengdu, Chongqing, Tianjin and Urumqi have also been left out of the 16-stop domestic torch relay.

The 2008 Paralympic Games will be held on September 6-17.

(Xinhua News Agency July 19, 2008)