The 2008 Summer Olympic Games will begin today in Beijing, China, and Arab nations will be well-represented.

Participating countries from the Arab World include Algeria, Comoros, Djibouti, Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Mauritania, Morocco, Oman, Palestine, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Somalia, Sudan, Syria, Tunisia, Yemen, and the United Arab Emirates.

For this year’s Olympics, 10,708 athletes will compete in 302 different events, which is one more event than the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece.

Events will take place at 37 different venues between August 8-24, and most of the TV coverage can be seen on either NBC or the CNBC cable channel. This year will be the first time the Olympics has been broadcast in high-definition television. NBC paid the International Olympic Committee $3.5 billion for the broadcasting rights to the Olympics.

Above: Homa Hosseini of Iran carries her boat after practicing for the women’s Single Skulls competition at Shunyi Olympic Rowing-Canoeing Park north of Beijing August 5, 2008. REUTERS/Darren Whitesid

The flag of Jordan is raised during the official flag raising ceremony in the Olympic Village ahead of the Beijing 2008 Olympic Games, August 7,2008. REUTERS/Oleg Popov