The International Paralympic Committee (IPC) announced on its website that the 13th Paralympic Games will get an extensive live coverage online.

Viewers can go to ParalympicSport.TV, the IPC's internet TV channel, for the live coverage of the events, which runs a minimum of eight hours per day.

Other matches will appear in highlights programs, and are also available on the channel.

"The IPC is very happy about this great commitment for the worldwide distribution of the Games. It is superb news for those who do not have the opportunity to watch Paralympics on TV," said IPC president Philip Craven.

China's state television China Central Television (CCTV) has also announced plans to broadcast live at least three events a day during the Paralympics, which runs from September 6-17.

Sign-language interpretation would be run simultaneously with every event for hearing-impaired people.

The live broadcast will be a major boost from previous Games, said Jiang Heping, CCTV's sports channel director. The only event broadcast live from the 2004 Athens Paralympics was the final of wheelchair basketball, and overall broadcast time added up to just 15 hours.

(Xinhua News Agency September 4, 2008)