On the morning of November 5, China.org.cn learned that the second phase of Olympic ticket sales would be changed into a ticket draw.

Each person submitting the application has an equal chance, and the first-come-first-served mechanism has been cancelled. The booking application may be submitted any time from December 10 to 30. More details will be issued later today.

At about 9:00 on this morning, China.org.cn called the Olympic Booking hotline 010-952008, the automatic message revealed the above information, and later an employee answered the phone and confirmed the reverted lottery system. 

The second phase of Olympic tickets sales began on October 30 with the tickets allocated on a "first-come, first-served basis", causing the collapse of the booking system. Later the Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games (BOCOG) suspended ticket sales.  BOCOG made an apology to the public and also disclosed that the new ticket reservation method would be announced on November 5.

(China.org.cn by Zhang Ming'ai, November 5, 2007)