BEIJING - For 16-year-old Li Miaomiao, sore feet from wearing high heels for hours at a time and an achy jaw from constant smiling are worth the chance of hanging a medal around an athlete's neck at the Beijing Olympics.
The willow-thin high school student is one of 34 Chinese girls "training" to be an Olympic medal presenter at the Beijing Foreign Affairs School (BFAS), one of several State-run colleges charged with producing camera-friendly girls for awards ceremonies.
When not balancing books on her head to improve posture during medal presentation rehearsal sessions, Li and her class-mates study English, cultural training and look at pictures of past medal presenters and their uniforms.
Most important for Li, though, is the smile.
"I practice at home, and smile to the mirror for an hour every day," Li said, beaming radiantly in a red waistcoat and high heels on the sidelines of a class.
"I want to present my smile to the world, and let them know that the Chinese smile is the warmest."
Li says her school, which will also produce staff to wait on International Olympic Committee officials at their hotel, is doing its bit to mould well-mannered, natural communicators to deal with foreign guests. "This is a huge opportunity for them.
The Olympics will put them in front of the world's audience and lead to a life-time of fortune," Li said. That is, if they make the grade. Not unlike the more than 800,000 Chinese who have applied for only 100,000 Olympic volunteer positions on offer, the competition to become one of the coveted 380-odd medal presenters is competitive.
The 34 hopefuls at BFAS are up against specialist dance schools, universities and possibly winners of regional contests across the country, Li said.
