List the ingredients to build the perfect athlete and noodles probably aren't high up there.

But with moves by at least one Olympic sponsor to invest in China's youth, a new connection between noodles and sporting success is in the offing.

As the Official Noodles Sponsor of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, President Enterprises (China) Investment Co Ltd is unloading new marketing campaigns that aim to involve China's youth in sport and tackle nagging social problems.

"As a Chinese company, President Enterprises is tasked with contributing to our first Olympic Games on home soil," said president Lin Wu-chung.

"This will be our largest sponsorship investment so far.

"Besides sponsoring the Olympic Games, we also have to pay a lot of attention to related social problems, such as those faced by poor students. We hope to extend the Olympic spirit to every corner of society."

President Enterprises thinks it can help contribute to China's sporting rise with better investment programs.

Selected as an Olympic sponsor by the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) last September, it became the first Taiwanese company to be accepted as a sponsor.

It will provide funds and noodle products to Olympic and Paralympic athletes, BOCOG officials, the Chinese Olympic Committee and Chinese Olympic Teams.

It will also reach out to charities and local youth, having made its first donation to the China Youth Development Foundation on March 23. It has pledged 13 million yuan ($1.67million) to the foundation through its contributions to Project Hope.

The money will be used to buy text books, fund sports facilities and select Olympic stars from the general student body.

Wu I-ting, president of the company's food business unit, said more marketing campaigns were in the pipeline.

"We are planning further marketing activities right now, for example, our customers may be rewarded with Olympic tickets."