Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ

I was born in an Olympic year, but sadly that's the closest I've ever been to being an Olympian. Despite my passion for the Games, this is the first time I'll be in a host city while they are taking place - looks like being a pretty good place start.

I am going to the Chinese capital to present "My Games" on and am hugely looking forward to capturing and sharing the excitement with you, transferring to your screen some of the the colour and the passion, following the issues and bringing you the stories from Beijing.

From the stories that happen in the sporting theatre to those that are taking place around the city and the rest of the host nation, but also to hear from you. Most importantly the programme is about first hand accounts of how the Games are being viewed, experienced and regarded across the globe.

That means we need you to participate, tell us what's on your mind, what you're discussing, and with whom. "My Games" is actually YOUR Games, we're going to be in Beijing to get your opinions and your analysis of what this event means to you, your friends, family and nation. Tell us how you're living the Games.

(To take part, email the programme: mygames@bbc.co.uk)

and were my formative Olympics. I still have a picture in my mind of Alan Wells crossing the 100 metres finishing line in 1980. Every four years along comes another achievement to imprint itself on my memory, ones no doubt one shared by millions of others.

For me, in no particular order, but eternally part of the images in my head are Matt Biondi, Florence Griffith Joyner, Maurizio Damilano, Hassiba Boulmerka, Felix Savon and Michael Gross. Some of those names may not resonate with you, but ask others, and they will, especially when you go to Algeria, or Cuba, for example.

There the names and are lionised, and while I'm neither Algerian nor Cuban, I too recognise their achievements as heroic.

And that's just one of the reasons I am a fan of the Olympics, it is the most international sporting gathering of them all. It's surely exactly the vision the creator of the modern day Games, Baron Pierre de Coubertin must have had. Bringing people from diverse cultures together through sport.

And if it's not too cheesy, that's what we're aiming to do with "My Games". I'm going to be giving you MY take on anything that catches my eye, and that's going to be about plenty more than just the sport, but it's also a place for YOU to do the same. Having a website and 4 weekley broadcasts on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World News is our chance to give you a platform to look at the Games from every possible angle.

Every picture, every e-mail, every comment and every contribution will be gratefully received, processed, and hopefully make a valuable contribution to our global debate. We really will be NOTHING without your involvement over the course of the Games.

We promise to have fun and hope to make you smile (sometimes), because that's exactly what sport should be about, celebrating achievement and participation, being elevated by supreme performances which take our collective breath away, and in the end leaving us with a smile of satisfaction that we have witnessed something special.

If you want to be involved with us in enjoying the biggest sporting, social, political and cultural extravaganza of the 21st Century so far, then we want to hear from you.

Throughout the Games, you'll be able to join in on the blog, and also with me live on Βι¶ΉΤΌΕΔ World News. If you have a webcam then you can even show your enthusiasm to the world. Our website will show you that there's more than one way to interact with us as we trawl through the wonderful and increasingly wierd world of the Olympic Games. For more details, email the programme: mygames@bbc.co.uk

Hope to hear from you soon,
Adnan