Beijing to issue media rules later this year

KUWAIT CITY, Nov 30 (Reuters) A new set of regulations for visiting media at the Beijing 2008 Olympics will be made public towards the end of the year, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) said.

China, which is under fire from pro-democracy groups over its human rights record and its restrictions on access and travel for journalists, has pledged to lift some of the bans for the Games.

The IOC has not yet seen the new regulations and it is unclear whether they will be enforced prior to the Games or only for the duration of the August 8-24 Olympics.

''The new media regulations will come out towards the end of the year and we are waiting for that,'' IOC president Jacques Rogge told reporters yesterday in Kuwait, where the IOC Executive Board has been meeting.

Beijing Games organisers pledged in September that foreign media would be free to travel around China and enjoy uncensored access to the Internet during the Olympics.

Non-Chinese journalists currently need permission to move around the country, while Web sites containing material considered sensitive by the Chinese government are often blocked.

Organisers have also said foreign media would have access to the Chinese team, although journalists would have to apply three weeks in advance to interview local Olympians before the Games.

The media restrictions are one of several democracy issues raised by human rights groups, who have criticised the IOC for awarding the Games to China.

REUTERS SBA BST0629