Sneak peek ... China's new National Stadium, the centrepiece of the Beijing Olympics and better known as the Bird's Nest, has been opened to media for the first time / AP
Iconic ... the $A540.17 million arena, which was started in December 2003 and completed 14 weeks behind schedule, will host the opening and closing ceremonies / Reuters
Timetable ... with 114 days to go until the opening ceremony, the finishing touches are still being applied with workers painting lines on the running track and some 91,000 seats yet to be fixed in place / AP
Proud ... workers and the large band of volunteers were reluctant to talk to the media but several said they thought the structure "amazing" / AP
Technology ... the interwoven steel structure that gives the stadium its Bird's Nest nickname is largely hidden by a "membrane" that will keep the rain off many of the seats and improve the quality of press photographs / AP
Methodical ... a policeman stands next to the lines marking the lanes for the athletics track at the National Stadium / Reuters
Coca Cola? ... after the Games, an auction will be held for naming rights that could result in a foreign company attaching its brand to the the stadium / Reuters
Human cost ... officials confirmed in January that two workers had died during construction of the stadium, denying media reports that there had been at least 10 fatalities / Reuters
Air quality ... heavy smog shrouds the Bird's Nest, though China says it's making efforts to reduce pollution in time for the Games / AP
Memorable ... the Bird's Nest at night / AFP
Drill-down:
It is used to describe articles that are stemmed from a single lead article that give a more in-depth or detailed information of the same subject.
