Yao Ming

Shanghai-born basketball star Yao Ming had a go at the silver screen, starring in a TV promotional film for his hometown.

The Houston Rockets star took some time out to shoot the film at several locations around Shanghai, after becoming the last torchbearer of the Athens Olympic torch relay in Beijing.

He will soon join his national teammates at a US training camp in preparation for the Athens Olympics in August.

The 2.26m center will play multiple roles in the film, titled Countless Yao Ming, A Beautiful Shanghai.

TV audiences will see the towering star as a chef, a gardener, a tourist, a businessman, a musician and a journalist.

The film will be screened in early July.

The TV role is the second of its kind for Yao Ming as a Shanghai native.

Last week, Yao Ming became a Special Olympics Global Ambassador since Shanghai will host the Special Olympics Summer Games in 2007.

Source: China Radio International