Budweiser to be Official Beer at 2008 Olympic Games

Budweiser has been named the "official international beer sponsor" for the 2008 Olympic games to be held in Beijing China.

The deal gives Anheuser-Busch, the maker of Bud, the right to use the Games' logo for promotions in China and 29 other countries. The logo will appear on packaging, P-O-S materials, sales promotions, branded merchandise and other marketing materials. This marks Anheuser-Busch's first sponsorship of a Summer Olympic Games held outside the United States, the company said.

Budweiser, which has been an official sponsor of the China Olympic Team since 2000, has also extended its agreement with the team through 2008. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.

China is an important market for beer makers, considered one of the largest-volume and fastest growing beer markets in the world.

Anheuser-Busch has invested more than $1 billion in Chinese breweries including the Budweiser International Brewing Co. in Wuhan, the Harbin Brewery Group Ltd. in Harbin and the Tsingtao Brewery Co., Ltd in Qingdao, the company said. Budweiser is also the "official beer" sponsor of the 2006 Winter Games in Torino, Italy.