The coming Beijing Olympic Games will boost by 50 percent the flat-panel television sales in China in 2008, according to a report from the China Electronic Chamber of Commerce.

Flat-panel television sales will surge to 12 million units from eight million units this year, the report said.

China has pledged to provide digital TV broadcasting for the Beijing Games, prompting citizens to buy high definition televisions to better view live broadcasting.

"Our survey shows that 53.3 percent of people plan to buy flat-panel televisions for Olympic viewing, in particular," said Chen Bingfeng, a marketing manager at leading Chinese TV maker TCL.

Sales of flat-panel televisions with 42-inch or larger monitors will account for 40 percent, or 4.8 million units, of the total, the report also forecast.