The 10 cities battling for the 2008 Olympic Games were slashed in half yesterday by the IOC. The IOC's executive committee said the five cities that will be allowed to bid for the world's biggest sports extravangaza will be Beijing, Istanbul, Osaka, Paris, and Toronto. The five cities whose applications were rejected were Bangkok, Cairo, Havana, Kuala Lumpur, and Seville.

The host city will be selected at the IOC session next July in Moscow. The 2004 Olympics will be held in Athens.

The inclusion of Paris as expected was welcomed by French Prime Minister Lionel Jospin as a first success for the City's bid to host the 2008 Games.

"Even if this decision was expected, it confirms the solidness of the dossier presented by the Paris 2008 group. This first success is encouraging for Paris' remaining bid, which I hope will bear fruit in less than six months," said Jospin.