YOUTH OLYMPIC FLAME TRAVELS FIVE CONTINENTS By Zakaria Abdul Wahab

SINGAPORE, March 28 (Bernama) - The Olympic flame for the first Youth Olympic Games (YOG) to be held in Singapore next year, will be lit in Greece and taken to a city each in Africa, America, Asia, Europe and Oceania before arriving here.

The International Olympic Committee (IOC) decided this at its Executive
Board meeting in Denver, United States, according to the Singapore Youth
Olympic Games Organising Committee in a statement here today.

Singapore will host the inaugural Youth Olympic Games from Aug 14 to
26.

The committee said at each city, the Olympic flame would be welcomed in a
city celebration focused on youth and the power of the Olympic values to make
the world a better place.

Athletes and youth on that continent would be invited to witness the
lighting of the cauldron and join in the city celebration, it said.

In Singapore, the Olympic flame will visit all parts of the city-state in a
traditional torch relay run, where youths from member countries of the
Association of Southeast Asian Nations (Asean) will also be invited to
participate.

The committee said before the Olympic flame began its journey, youth all
over the world would be invited to take part in the Million Deeds Challenge and
connect to the Olympic movement through new media technologies.

They are encouraged to do deeds of excellence, friendship and respect within
their communities, and share these deeds at the Million Deeds Challenge
(www.milliondeeds.sg), a micro-site of the Singapore 2010 website.

Designed as a virtual torch relay, every deed posted would move the virtual
flame a step closer from Greece to Singapore, travelling through all 205
National Olympic Committees, the committee said.

Singapore expects about 3,600 athletes and 800 officials for the games.