A total of 870 people have been selected to become the first batch of volunteers for the 2008 Olympic Games and Paralympic Games, the Beijing Olympics Organizing Committee (BOCOG) announced on Thursday.

They earned the honor thanks to their outstanding performance during last summer's Olympic test events held in Beijing, BOCOG said.

More than 700,000 people have applied so far to be volunteers for the Beijing Games, which need 100,000 volunteers. Recruitment is expected to end before May 2008.

(Xinhua News Agency October 19, 2007)