Plans to carry the Olympic flame over the largest mountain in the world will not harm the local environment, a national legislator and senior official from Tibet said yesterday on the sidelines of China's annual parliamentary session.

The Beijing Organizing Committee for the 2008 Olympic Games has announced that a rehearsal for next year's Olympic torch relay over Mount Qomolangma, or Mount Everest as it is known in English, will be held this year. The announcement has sparked a debate about possible damage to the environment.

Some media reports have blamed the environmental changes to Tibet partly on an increase in tourists and mountaineers to the area. They say the modern equipment needed to televise the relay will lead to greater pollution.

"How can the Olympic torch relay harm the ecological environment of Tibet? On the contrary, it is of vital significance and a golden opportunity for the development of Tibet," said Zhang Qingli, Communist Party chief for the Tibet Autonomous Region and a deputy to the National People's Congress.

Zhang said a publicity campaign will be carried out to give people a better understanding of Tibet and of the region's environment protection policies.

Yuklha, another Tibetan NPC deputy, also welcomed the tourch relay.

"It will be very significant for the Olympic flame to ascend the global peak."

Organizers of the games have revealed that the torch is expected to reach Mount Qomolangma from the southern slope.