'Victory ceremony hostesses' rehearse for the Olympics

Every motion carried out must be perfect.

(BEIJING, March 13) -- The first batch of victory ceremony hostesses for the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games rehearsed together Wednesday afternoon at the Qiongfu Tower. According to reports, over 300 women were selected from thousands of applicants from the 14 top universities in Beijing over three rounds to become etiquette volunteers in August. Not until June will all of the women gather together.

Students practice real-life situations that will come up during the Games.

The 47 young ladies present at this first series of instruction sessions have been undergoing etiquette training continuously for the past five days. Nuo Diya, a student of Central University of Nationalities, is one of them. The concentration was evident in her eyes as she watched and listened to coaches, as etiquette training is new for her, and most of the other girls as well. The volunteers admitted to learning quite a lot from their informal training, including how to balance on high heels, a first for many. Even so, Nuo is sure that her team will do well at the Olympics.

The volunteers will try out their new skills at upcoming "Good Luck Beijing" competitions.

A trainer (left) corrects the motions of an hostess.