Organizers of the 2010 Guangzhou Asian Games said on Thursday that the recruitment of more than 560,000 Asian Games volunteers will begin next week.

"We look forward to receiving volunteer applications from various sectors and from home and abroad," said Wang Huanqing, Director of the Volunteer Department of the Guangzhou Asian Games Organizing Committee (GAGOC).

The volunteer recruitment program for the 2010 Asian Games will begin at 9 p.m. on April 21, 2009, with the deadline for applications in September 2010, added Wang.

According to Wang, 60,000 people will be recruited as Games-time volunteers, and some 500,000 others serve as "City Volunteers", who will work at designated spots across Guangzhou, mainly to help overseas visitors overcome the language barrier.

Information is available on the Asian Games website at www.gz2010.cn/en.

(Xinhua News Agency April 16, 2009)