China is promising the 2008 Olympics in Beijing will be bathed in sunshine - because it is planning to disperse any rain clouds with special rockets.

The world's most populous country is going to extraordinary lengths to ensure the opening ceremony will not be plagued by downpours which often afflict its capital in August.

Boffins have come up with a cunning plan to force the heavens to open by firing chemical-infused rockets at storm clouds, forcing them to burst before the set-piece spectacle gets underway.

A Handmade Street Sweeping tractor
This is an invention of farmers in western rural area of China.

A man walks past a No Smoking sign poste...
Beijing, CHINA: A man walks past a No Smoking sign posted in front of a Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) hospital in Beijing, 29 May 2007. Olympic organisers are planning a smoke-free Games next year and legislation imposing strict curbs on tobacco use at Olympic sites will be announced 31 May, to coincide with World No Tobacco Day. China has some 400 million smokers who are free to light up at will in most public places across the country, where rudimentary anti-tobacco legislation is routinely ignored. AFP PHOTO/Frederic J. BROWN

A Chinese model parades a fashion by loc...
Beijing, CHINA: A Chinese model parades a fashion by local designers during a show in Beijing 29 May 2007. Most Chinese designers and fashion houses are still struggling for recognition, while the rapidly growing disposable income among China's residents has led some of the world's biggest fashion names to open not only in major metropolises such as Shanghai, Beijing and Guangzhou, but also wealthy secondary cities such as Hangzhou and Suzhou. AFP PHOTO (Photo credit should read STR/AFP/Getty Images)

Beijing, CHINA: Some of the 133 classic cars make their way from the foot of the Great Wall of China near Beijing 27 May 2007, at the start off the 100th anniversary of Peking to Paris Motor Challenge 2007, the first-ever trans-continental motor-marathon.

A labourer walks in the dust at the construction site of the National Olympic Stadium, also known as the 'Bird's Nest', in Beijing, in this May 17, 2007 file photo. China must integrate environmental conservation into its development plans, officials said on Tuesday, as the environment ministry said pollution across the country was getting worse. (Alfred Cheng Jin/Reuters)

Workers relax outside the Olympic National Stadium known as the "Bird's Nest" in Beijing. Beijing Olympic organisers on Wednesday played down the reported financial collapse of a German main stadium contractor, saying work on the showpiece Olympic venue would be unaffected.(AFP/Peter Parks)

Vehicles are seen on the 3rd ring road during rush hour in Beijing, in this April 18, 2007 file photo. Beijing unveiled a new state of the art subway line on Friday which it hopes will help persuade the city's car owners to leave their vehicles at home and ease congestion before the 2008 Olympics. (Jason Lee/Reuters)