China to auction Games memorabilia

BEIJING (Reuters) - More than 20 million items of memorabilia from the Beijing Olympics, including the extra-long bed slept in by Chinese basketball star Yao Ming, are to be auctioned, state media reported on Tuesday.

"Normal citizens can also take part in the live auction if they are interested," the Beijing Intellectual Property Exchange was quoted by a state-run news portal (www.china.com.cn) as saying.

Among the pieces up for grabs are a 2.6 meter-long (8 ft 6 in) bed made specially for Yao's use in the Athletes Village, the antique percussion instrument used in the Opening Ceremony and 2,008 umbrellas emblazoned with the "smiling faces" logo.

(Reporting by Beijing Newsroom; Editing by Lindsay Beck and Alex Richardson)