CHINA'S OLYMPICS SHOWPIECE:CHINA'S NEW National Stadium, the centrepiece of the Beijing Olympics and better known as the Bird's Nest, was opened to international media for the first time yesterday.

The iconic 3.5 billion yuan ($500.2 million;

313,655,520) arena, which was started in December 2003 and completed 14 weeks behind schedule, will host the opening and closing ceremonies as well as the athletics and soccer finals at the August 8th-24th spectacular.

With 114 days to go until the opening ceremony, the finishing touches were still being applied. Workers were painting lines on the running track and some of the 91,000 seats had yet to be fixed in place.

Workers and the large band of volunteers were reluctant to talk to the media but several said they thought the structure "amazing".

From the inside, the interwoven steel structure that gives the stadium its nickname was largely hidden by a membrane that will keep the rain off many of the seats and prevent unsightly shadows from ruining television pictures on sunny days.

The first event to take place at the stadium is the IAAF men's 20-km walking test event on Friday. Sunday's Good Luck Beijing marathon will also finish at the Bird's Nest.

An athletics test event from May 22nd-25th will be the first thorough test of the stadium's ability to host top level track and field events.