The contested route of the torch relay for the Beijing Olympics is about to be evaluated by the International Olympic Committee, with a focus on disputed legs in Taiwan and Tibet.

Organizers of the 2008 Beijing Olympics will present the proposed route to the IOC at meetings in Beijing over the next 10 days. Beijing officials say the IOC is expected to announce the route on the final day of talks on April 26.

The torch relay is a popular event, embodying Olympic ideal of friendship through sports.

To be part of the Olympic hoopla, Taiwan has offered a compromise proposal: bringing the torch from an IOC-member country,probably South Korea, Japan or a nation in Southeast Asia, to Taiwan and then to Hong Kong, which is part of China but for historical reasons has a separate IOC membership.

Such an arrangement could be acceptable to both sides. Taiwan could claim it is part of the international route, not the domestic route through China, while a Taiwan-Hong Kong hand-off would allow Beijing to obscure the difference.

Organizers declined Monday to confirm the route, although last week Chen Kuo-yi, secretary general of the Taiwan Olympic Committee, said his group had told Beijing organizers it would accept such a compromise. Reports in Japan last week also said Taiwan had reached an agreement with China.

China's grandiose plans, leading up to the opening on August 8, 2008, present other logistical difficulties.

The Tibet route takes the torch to the top of Mount Everest, the world's tallest. Three months ago, officials said climbers were in training to carry a specially designed torch which burns in the low-oxygen air at Everest's summit. Some environmentalists have opposed the venture.

The IOC's Coordination Commission, which oversees Beijing's preparations, is holding three days of meetings beginning Tuesday in Beijing. They will be followed next week by talks with the IOC Executive Board and President Jacques Rogge.

In addition to the torch route, the IOC said it will be looking at the organizers' plans for athletes, media, Olympic sponsors, fans and the Paralympic Games.

IOC officials have consistently praised Beijing for being far ahead of schedule in building venues.

However, last month Beijing organizers acknowledged the architectural jewel of the games ,the National Stadium, known as the Bird's Nest,was facing minor delays. It was supposed to be finished by the end of the year, but now is scheduled for completion in early 2008.

Twenty-six test events are set for this summer. The new venues are part of a mammoth project to rebuild Beijing, which is reportedly spending between US$40 billion and US$160 billion (euro29.5 billion and euro118.2 billion) on infrastructure, including subways, roads and sprawling blocks of new glass towers.

About 500,000 foreign visitors and 20,000 journalists are expected to attend the 2008 Olympics.