With five weeks remaining till the start of the Beijing Olympic Games, the laying of the turf at the Qingdao Olympic Sailing Centre is running ahead of schedule.

Visiting yachties are said to be delighted at the massive carpet of green algae that is spreading across the venue for the games' many sailing events. A total of 32000 square kilometres of ocean off Shandong Province is covered with enteromorpha prolifera, including about one-third of the Olympic race course.

Lawn bowls officials, having seen the new offshore greens, are said to be livid that their sport has yet again been left out of the Olympic program.

A spokesperson from the Qingdao Oceanic and Fishery Department said that the algae outbreak had nothing to do with the chemical, industrial and human waste dumped in Chinese rivers and thence into the North Pacific.

More at The Guardian.