Turin and its surrounding mountains began for the Games on Saturday what organizers are promising will be the most beautiful edition of the Winter Olympics ever staged.

The 16-day sports events with a spectacular opening ceremony at Turin's Stadio Olimpico on Friday evening - a show featuring 250 professionals and 3,000 volunteers, screened to millions of viewers worldwide.

Over 120 major international figures attended, including 22 heads of state and sovereigns, 23 prime ministers and the U.S. First Lady Laura Bush.

Organizers have solved the budget shortfalls that dogged the run-up to the Games.

The Olympic facilities were finished on time and look good and the organizational machine has been tested at a series of international sporting events.

A recent series of heavy snowfalls chipped in to the preparations too, helping put the competition courses in the mountains in perfect condition.

After months of wrangling, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) and the Italian government also reached a compromise agreement over drugs checks.

Doping is a criminal offense in Italy, so the IOC was terrified at the prospect of seeing competitors caught taking performance- enhancing drugs behind bars.

Italy refused to waive its strict doping legislation for the duration of the Turin Olympics, but has agreed not to prosecute athletes who fail drugs tests.

Over 2,500 athletes from all over the world are in Turin to take part in 84 Olympic competitions, with 252 medals up for grabs.

These include Alpine skiing greats like Bode Miller, Hermann Maier and Janica Kostelic and the mighty United States, Canadian, Swedish and Russian ice-hockey teams.

The host country has high hopes of piling up a rich medal haul with its 183-strong team, the biggest Italy has ever fielded at an edition of the Winter Games.

The goal is to surpass the tally of 13 medals - four golds, four silvers and five bronzes - notched up in 2002 in Salt Lake City.

Italy's hottest gold-medal prospects are 32-year-old Armin Zoeggeler, the reigning men's luge Olympic champion, and Giorgio Rocca in the slalom.

Organizers stress that, as well as being a festival of sport, the Turin Olympics will also leave a legacy of modern facilities and transport infrastructure to the region of Piedmont for the future.

The Turin Games can also boast that they are the most environmentally-friendly event of this scale ever to be held. This has been recognized by the European Commission and green groups.

The Olympic facilities have been designed in a way that minimizes their impact on the environment and they are equipped with the latest energy- and water-saving technology.

TOROC has also put on a rich program of cultural events - including film screenings, exhibitions, concerts and theater performances - to keep the sporting festival company.

Italy has hosted the Winter Olympics once before - in 1956 in Cortina.

Turin is also the venue for the Winter Paralympics, March 10-19, 2006.

Source: Xinhua