During the Sydney Olympics, 70,000 condoms were distributed to athletes for their use but they ran out so fast that another 20,000 had to be brought in. Learning their lesson, officials for the Athens games provided 130,000 condoms free of charge to athletes. At the meticulously manicured 66 hectare Olympic village, BOCOG officials have done such a wonderful job preparing everything from Peking Duck to Chinese massage, calligraphy lessons, live Chinese folk music and armies......

In our past life as a media whore public relations executive, we learnt that one of the defining elements of PR with Chinese characteristics is that cash is not only frequently extended in return for positive coverage, it is actually industry standard that you hand out the cash to journalists in nice little envelopes discreetly tucked into the media kit as "travel expenses" (车马费). That this is standard practice is hardly news, but tough luck......