Bloggers enraged over "pretty face" fakery

By Paul Majendie

BEIJING (Reuters) - Bloggers were up in arms on Wednesday over China's decision at the Olympic opening ceremony to have a pretty little girl lip-synching for the real singer who had crooked teeth.

Many said they felt cheated because one of the most touching moments of the critically acclaimed ceremony was not the real deal.

"Frankly, I think that's disgusting. Honestly, they're seven and nine years old! So young!" one New York teenage girl wrote angrily in her blog.

Nine-year-old Lin Miaoke was praised for her cute performance but organisers admitted on Wednesday that she was a photogenic stand-in for the real singer, Yang Peiyi, who was rejected because of her appearance.

"I find it sad that they ruined an otherwise pretty awesome ceremony with those fakes," another blog argued.

"So forget Beijing 2008. Best opening ceremony so far is still SYDNEY 2000! They didn't see it necessary to use computer generated images to impress the world."

The organisers have also admitted that the "live" television broadcast of the opening ceremony featured pre-recorded shots of fireworks.

A search on Google blogs showed what a can of worms had been opened. Indignation ranked alongside astonishment as their primary reaction.