BEIJING, Oct. 16 (Xinhua) -- The 2008 Olympic mascots have their English name changed in an attempt to keep consistent with the Chinese version.

The five doll mascots, which embody the natural characteristics of four of China's popular animals -- the Fish, the Panda, the Tibetan Antelope, the Swallow -- and the Olympic Flame, were initially called "Friendlies" and now are named "Fuwa", a literal Chinese pinyin translation.

"The decision (to change the mascots' name) was made recently by the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee (BOCOG) at its board meeting," said a BOCOG official who asked not to be named.

The official said the change would help popularize the mascots among the Chinese people.

"Fuwa reads more smoothly. And we hope it helps the Chinese people to understand the mascots better," he said. "If they read about the friendlies, they might get confused."

The pictures of the mascots on the BOCOG website now carry the name Fuwa, which translates into English as "Lucky kids".

The mascots have drawn criticism from some netizens since they were unveiled on Nov. 11, 2005, exactly 1,000 days before the 2008Games open in the Chinese capital.

A teacher surnamed Li at Lanzhou University said that the English name could be confusing.

"'Friendlies' has the same pronunciation as 'Friendless', whichmay lead to misunderstanding," he told Xinhua.

"Moreover, 'Friendlies' could be read 'Friend lies', a completely different meaning," he said. Enditem