If you're staying put or visiting the capital of the PRC next summer, you'll probably want to be part of the Olympics as a spectator. Time is running out, though: Round 2 of the ticket lottery (pretty much a lottery at that) is starting real soon!

Round 2 originally was supposed to be a "first-come-first-served" round, but remember -- this is the capital of a nation of 1.3 billion! The sheer online stampede overwhelmed the Beijing Olympics servers and bought it to its knees. The folks in charge knew that this was obviously not the way to do biz, and went back to the good/bad old days of the ticket lottery.

You can grab your own tickets now at www.tickets.beijing2008.cn, but you'll need to hurry -- orders are accepted only through December 30, 2007! There's a limit of 8 tickets per person, and identification is required.

Not an Internaut? Head over to your nearest Bank of China ticket sales office. Also, tickets to the opening and closing ceremonies of the Paralympics will be available beginning today.

Good luck all!