A staff member shows samples of the jade which will be used in the 2008 Olympic medals. It was announced in Beijing yesterday that the gold, silver and bronze medals will incorporate a distinctive band of jade from the plateau province of Qinghai. Several thousand jade bands will be handed over to the organizing committee of the Beijing Olympics at the end of March. The gold medal will have the lighter, finer jade, the silver a light green jade and the bronze a darker green.—Xinhua