BEIJING -- Beijing organizers said they will start on August 28 to recruit volunteers for the 2008 Olympics and Paralympics.

"Some 70,000 will serve the 2008 Olympics and 30,000 the Paralympics," Liu Jian, an official in charge of the volunteers recruitment, told a mobilization meeting Friday.

An on-line application system and toll-free hotline will be set up for the massive recruiting drive.

According to Liu, the volunteers will be recruited mainly from universities in Beijing, but will also include people from other cities around mainland China, as well as residents of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan.

"Overseas Chinese and foreign people are also welcome," he said.

Liu said the recruitment work will last through March 2008.

"When the recruitment gets underway on August 28, applicants in Beijing, compatriots of Hong Kong, Macao and Taiwan, overseas Chinese as well as foreigners can immediately submit their applications," he said.

"Applicants in the other provinces, autonomous regions and municipalities other than Beijing, however, will have to wait until December to apply."