The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) on Friday offered 5 million RMB (714,000 U.S. dollars) to the earthquake-stricken areas in southwest China's Sichuan Province.

BOCOG set up donation boxes in the Olympic Building after the devastating earthquake measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale rocked southwest China.

By Thursday, BOCOG staff have donated more than 640,000 RMB and the organizers delivered the money via the Beijing Red Cross to the quake-hit areas.

(Xinhua News Agency May 18, 2008)