With the Beijing Games already halfway through, Olympic athletes are taking some time to load up on Olympic souvenirs and goods at some of the shops around town.

Greek water polo player Georgios Afroudakis bought T-shirts covered in patterns of the Bird's Nest and Water Cube.

"These T-shirts will remind me of the Beijing Olympics," he said.

"The Water Cube is the best swimming pool I've ever been to, so I definitely need something bearing the logo for the memory."

Souvenirs bearing this year's Olympic mascots are also a big hit among the athletes.

"They are so cute that I couldn't help buying a lot," Turkish marathon runner Bahar Dogan, who was shopping at the Olympic village.

Greek swimming coach Georgios Vallas found some post cards and Chinese paintings for his family at the Forbidden City.

"I was so surprised to find Beijing an international city," he said.

"It has only opened to the world for a few decades. It is indeed unbelievable, so I bought a few post cards, which indicate the modern capital and also paintings that show the Chinese culture."

American athletics player April Steiner-Bennett went to the silk market. She bought three purses and a pair of boots for friends for 200 yuan.

"It is a very good deal," Steiner-Bennett said.

(China Daily August 18, 2008)