Get ready for masked Olympians in Beijing

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It was already a bad PR week for the Beijing Olympics after director Steven Spielberg quit as artistic consultant in protest of China’s role in the Darfur genocide. Now, in a further embarassment, the British Olympic Association has decided to allow British athletes to wear masks while competing to minimize the effect of air pollution. The masks have already been designed and tested, apparently, but details and images have been kept under wraps.

Regardless of what they look like, Chinese officials can’t be thrilled about the prospect of millions of viewers watching masked marathoners running through Beijing’s smog-choked streets. The U.S. Olympic Committee has decided not to allow masks in order to avoid offending the hosts. China’s international coming-out party seems increasingly likely to turn into a complete fiasco for the country’s image. And the worst is yet to come.