Final preparations for the 2008 Summer Olympics are in full swing in Beijing. This includes completing hundreds of construction projects, reconstructions, pollution controls, cultural training, and a general "beautifying" of greater Beijing. Rehearsals and drills take place daily as Chinese citizens hurry to finish up - after all, the whole world is coming soon. The Olympics are set to begin on August 8th.

The moon rises over the new National Theater in Beijing Wednesday July 16, 2008. The glass and titanium dome, nicknamed "The Egg" is one of a series of landmarks, notable for their futuristic design, that will greet visitors to the Olympics. (AP Photo/Greg Baker)

 

Chinese cheerleaders for the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games gather for practice in Beijing on July 18, 2008. Cheerleading is a quintessentially American tradition but has become more and more popular in China, thanks in large part to the phenomenal success of US basketball among China's youth, who are not shocked by scantily-clad dancers. (STR/AFP/Getty Images)

 

A view of the Shougang Group compound on the outskirts of Beijing in this July 17, 2008 photo. There is little doubt at ordinary Beijingers' ethusiasm for next month's Olympic Games. But a whole series of problems that have proven tough to fix could give visitors an Olympic-sized headache, and may put many off coming altogether. The Shougang Group, one of China's leading steel makers and the capital's major polluter, is fulfilling its commitment to cut output and pollution by 70 percent for the Olympic Games, a company source said Friday, July 11th. (REUTERS/Darren Whiteside)

 

A Chinese worker cleans the floor near a train waiting to leave from the new Beijing Capital International Airport Terminal 3 subway station in Beijing, Saturday, July 19, 2008. Three new subway lines were opened Saturday allowing passengers arriving at the airport to reach the Olympic Green by train for the first time. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

 

A worker washes his hands in a moat around the National Aquatics Centre also known as the Water Cube, at the Olympic Green in Beijing on 18 July, 2008. With just 21 days to go the finishing touches to Olympic venues continues for the opening ceremony on 8 August in the National Stadium better known as the Bird's Nest. (PETER PARKS/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Chinese performers wait to take part in the rehearsals of the Olympic Games opening ceremony to be held at the Bird Nest National Stadium in Beijing, China, Wednesday, July 16, 2008. Full dress rehearsals are conducted under a cloak of secrecy ahead of one of the most anticipated summer Olympic Games. (AP Photo/Ng Han Guan)

 

Cleaners abseil down the exterior of the International Broadcasting Centre (IBC) building at the Olympic Green in Beijing July 16, 2008. (REUTERS/David Gray)

 

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