Sawt Falasteen - Winter Olympics torch unveiled in joint ceremony in Milan and Osaka

Designed by the Carlo Ratti Associati studio in Turin, the torches were presented for the first time in a theatre at Milan's Triennale art and design museum and the Italian pavilion at the World Expo in Japan.

In Milan, former cross-country skiing Olympic gold winner Stefania Belmondo and Beatrice Vio, a two-time Paralympic wheelchair fencing champion, brought out the torches which are made from recycled aluminium.

The Olympic torch is light blue while the Paralympic torch is bronze, with both designed to highlight the flame and to keep it high and away from the athletes.

Vio joked with the audience that the torches used for last year's Olympic and Paralympic Games in Paris "practically went in my face".

"Thanks for being concerned about people's faces!" she said.

As per tradition, the Olympic torch will be lit at the Temple of Hera in Olympia, Greece, on November 26 before being taken to Athens for the handover ceremony, scheduled for December 4.

The flame will begin its journey around Italy in Rome two days later, snaking across the country until it arrives in Milan on February 5, one day before the opening ceremony in the Mediterranean nation's economic capital.

The opening ceremony will be held at the iconic San Siro stadium which usually hosts matches for Italian football giants Inter Milan and AC Milan.

Once given the official kick-off, the Games will then take place over a vast area of northern Italy stretching from Milan to ski resort Cortina d'Ampezzo near the border with Austria.

T.Khatib--SF-PST