Eight "Olympic Pandas" nominated by Internet users to add cheer to the Games this summer met the public on Thursday morning at the Beijing Zoo.

The display featuring the endangered animals was launched in a special ceremony which coincided the start of a donation project to rebuild the damaged panda habitat in quake-stricken Sichuan Province.

Enthusiastic visitors queued to buy tickets to the renovated panda hall and took pictures from outside the newly expanded glass enclosure, where wooden toy trees, a mural and swimming pools create a homey environment. The pandas live in three pens held at a constant temperature, similar to their natural habitat.

A worker at the panda hall said the number of visitors had risen by more than 50 percent in the morning when most of them were "coming for the sake of the eight new pandas".

Zoo officials said they would consider controlling the visitor numbers if the hall became too crowded.

"I have been waiting for them to come out for about two hours," said a little girl on her father's shoulders, with a panda print balloon in hand, and behind crowds of visitors and photographers who burst into cheers as the eight pandas appeared in the enclosure.

"I like Huanhuan best out of the eight because it looks like Jingjing, the Fuwa Panda," she added, referring to one of the official mascots of the Beijing Olympic Games.

"They are lovely," said an American tourist Terry Swingler who was busy choosing a panda T-shirt with his wife. "We have seen one, but we've never seen so many together."

The 2-year-old cubs, flown from Sichuan last month, were expected to attract 6 million domestic and foreign tourists during their six-month show in the capital.

They were selected from among 16 candidates at the China Giant Panda Protection and Research Center in Wolong Town, only 30 km from the epicenter of the devastating May 12 earthquake.

Experts with the center said the pandas had recovered from their quake trauma and were all in good condition.

"We always pat them gently, talk with them and maintain eye contact to make it easier for them to adapt to a new home," said Wu Daifu, one of four center keepers who accompanied the pandas to Beijing.

"Having got over the minor anxiety, they are living healthily in the zoo and growing heavier," he added.

The keepers, who sleep in the same building with the pandas, will take care of them during their stay in Beijing.

"To keep a close eye on their activities at night, we take shifts to monitor them through video cameras," Wu said.

The Wolong base sustained severe damage from the powerful quake. Five staff at the base were killed.

Two pandas were injured and six went missing, five of which have been found.

"It's unknown whether the quake would have an adverse effect on the pandas' breeding," said Wang Pengyan, vice director of the base. "We have been testing their health by analyzing panda droppings since the disaster."

He said the mating period had finished before the May 12 earthquake.

Wang said the base would probably remain at Wolong despite the damage.

"The biggest problem we encountered is that the critical infrastructure was destroyed and it needs time for rebuilding."

(Xinhua News Agency June 6, 2008)