THEY have been at the forefront of the Beijing Olympic Games and their smiles have made the lives of athletes, officials, fans and the media so much easier.

Volunteers are the heart and soul of every major sporting event and how they execute their role actually determines the fate of a Games like the Olympics.

And the 20,000 volunteers, including a fair amount from abroad, have not once shirked their responsibilities and given the Olympics a real personal touch.

A volunteer helping a fan find her way (Pictures courtesy of official Games website)

Many thought that language would be a barrier and it has, to a certain extent, but the effort China put in training the volunteers means it wasn't that bad at all.

Most volunteers speak only Chinglish but know and understand enough to receive and get messages across.

And they are all over Beijing - at taxi stands, stadiums and shopping complexes - and always on the alert for a foreigner in distress.

A volunteer attends to a foreign official.

Most are university students and their tasks include cleaning tables, mopping floors and clearing rubbish but all have been done with a smile.

Some volunteers meet former International Olympic Committee president Juan Antonio Samaranch.

It has, as the penultimate day of action unfolds, been a strain as the hours have been long but one suspects that the smiles are disappearing more because the end is near and not because of tiredness.

But they have impressed and Sebastian Coe, who heads the 2012 London Olympics Organising Committee, said in a press conference that there is so much to learn from China's volunteers.

High praise indeed for the unsung heroes of the Beijing Olympics.