The largest ever Main Press Center and International Broadcast Center for any Olympics has opened for the Beijing Games.

During the Games, the two buildings will be the second home for some 20,000 journalists accredited by the International Olympic Committee.

Our reporter Dan Dan brings us more details.

Reporter:

The Main Press Center, or MPC, is the central work place for the 5,600 accredited journalists and photographers covering the Beijing Games.

With 62,000 square meters of working place, the MPC in Beijing is the biggest press center ever in the Olympic history.

There are five press conference rooms in the building. It is estimated that an average of 30 press conferences will be held everyday during the Games period.

Across the street from the MPC, the International Broadcast Center will be the workplace for 16,000 broadcasters from around the world.

At the ceremony marking the opening of the two media centers, Hein Verbruggen, the IOC member in charge of overseeing preparation for the 2008 Olympics, highlights the significance of the two facilities.

"Because it is from here that the story of Beijing 2008 will be told. Stories of about sporting spectacles, victories and defeats, stories also of friendship forged between athletes from different nations, who were brought together by theses Games, stories of how China and its people get to be better known and understood."

To better communicate with journalists from all over the world, volunteers speaking in nine foreign languages have been trained for service in MPC. These languages include English, French, Russian, Japanese and so on.

A voluteer for English service said they have received comprehensive training.

"We were given some training on the common knowledge on the Olympics, how to receive the foreign media, what services we could offer and the things we need to know about the MPC."

The volunteer introduces that after midnight, services in only 3 languages, namely English, French and Japanese, will be offered on site. But she says journalists that don't speak these three languages can still get help.

"We have telephone conversations. We call that multi-lingual center. By telephone, you can receive 44 language services."

Considering that journalists will have tight schedules reporting the Olympic stories, designers of MPC have included in the building facilities such as a gym, hair saloon and even a massage center.

Guo Weimin, one of the four newly-appointed spokespersons for the Beijing Olympics, says it is the ultimate goal of MPC to better serve journalists.

"The concerns of the media are our own concerns. We'll provide accurate and timely information, quality and efficient services."

The Beijing International Media Center also opened on Tuesday. This center is especially provided for journalists who don't have Olympic media accreditation.

Dan Dan, CRI news.