Want Yao Ming's Olympic bed? Bid for it!

Houston Rockets' Yao Ming celebrates his team's victory over the Utah Jazz in Game 3 in their NBA basketball playoff series in Salt Lake City, Utah April 24, 2008.

BEIJING (Reuters) - Beijing Olympic organizers will auction some 200 million items of Olympic memorabilia after the Games are over, including the bed of the country's 7ft 6in NBA All-star Yao Ming, local media reported on Thursday.

Organizers hope to raise up to 1 billion yuan ($146 million) from the sale of "furniture and fixtures, timepieces, light bulbs and tubes, and a variety of sport equipment", the China Daily said, citing the appointed auctioneer.

"We will highlight items (like Yao's bed) for bidders. Obviously the bidding will be hot. People will be looking for memorabilia," the paper quoted Xiong Yan, president of the Beijing Equity Exchange, as saying.

Some 200 types of Olympic Village furniture, including closets and coffee tables, had already been listed online for sale, with "electronic items" and sports equipment to follow, the paper said.

"This is not the first time Olympic organizers have auctioned memorabilia, but as far as I know it is the biggest," Xiong said.

Land reserved for temporary Olympic venues would also go under the hammer after the Games, the paper said.

The Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) has yet to announce how proceeds would be used.

Beijing officials have previously said marketing income, including ticket sales, a lucrative sponsorship program and merchandising, would more than cover the cost of running the Games, which organizers have put at $2.1 billion, with the IOC contributing half.

(Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by Nick Macfie and Ben Tan)

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