The torch run for the 2007 Special Olympics World Summer Games kicks off in Beijing's the Temple of Heaven yesterday.

More than 500 people, including local police officers, foreign law enforcement officers and Special Olympic athletes, took part in the activity.

The "Flame of Hope" will travel through 14 cities across China before it arrives in Shanghai next Tuesday.

The Special Olympics, which will run in the city from Tuesday to October 11, will feature some 10,000 athletes and trainers from more than 160 countries and regions.

It is being held in Asia for the first time.