"Traditional Chinese elements alone are not enough," said fashion designer Li Xin. "We should absorb modern features as well."

Li was the brains behind the costumes worn by the Chinese delegation at the Athens Games.

"The style should be suitable for all kinds of athletes and their body shapes," she added.

A competition to find the winning design was launched late last year by Heng Yuan Xiang, an official sponsor of the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG).

The delegation requires formal wear including a suit, tie, shoes, skirt and a briefcase for the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games, as well as for banquets, interviews and meetings with senior officials.

Adidas, as an official BOCOG partner, will provide the delegation's sports wear.

During a discussion session on March 30 experts suggested China should take pride in its traditional costume and button-up tunic.

"The Olympic Games should be a golden opportunity to spread awareness of traditional Chinese costumes," said Zhang Zhongxiang, deputy director of the committee of traditional Chinese costumes. "We should show the world a costume people can admire."

Yet the majority of experts rejected the idea of focusing exclusively on Chinese traditional wear for fear of appearing stuck in a time warp.

Fashion designer Cui You said the new generation of athletes are modern, trendy and of their time, something the costumes should reflect.

"Most of the athletes are dynamic and enthusiastic young people, so we should not be too meticulous about foregrounding Chinese elements, and avoid making the uniforms a mere smorgasbord of these," she said.

Judging for the competition will run from September through May 2008, with a final decision to be announced 100 days before the Games begin.