Olympic flame for Beijing Games lit in ancient Olympia

OLYMPIA, Greece, March 24 (Xinhua) -- Greece's actress Maria Nafpliotou, the head priestess, lit the torch in the Olympic flame-lighting ceremony for the Beijing Games at the site of ancient Olympia on Monday.

The lighting heralded the start of a five-month torch relay that will end at the Games' opening ceremony on August 8.Greek taekwondo athlete Alexandros Nikolaidis, Olympic silver medallist in 2004, will be the first torchbearer of a six-day Greek relay.

The flame will be handed over to the Chinese on March 30.