Washington, Mar 28: US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice has said that the Beijing Olympics are a "moment of international recognition for the Chinese people," whom she would not want to insult by encouraging a boycott.

Rice said that boycotting the Summer Olympics in Beijing would be an ineffective way to address China's troublesome policies, and called the US boycott of the 1980 games in Moscow "feckless."

"This is a moment of international recognition for the Chinese people, too, and I would hate to do anything that is insulting to them as well - the people, not the regime," she said.

" I do not see the benefit of boycotting," Rice told reporters and editors at The Washington Times.

"I do not think the boycott of the 1980 Olympics was very effective. In fact, I think it looked feckless," she added.

President George W Bush plans to go to Beijing for the Olympics in August, and Rice said he would bring up China's human rights record, its close ties with the Sudanese government, which Washington has accused of committing genocide in the Darfur region, as well as other issues of concern.

eanwhile, French President Nicolas Sarkozy, said that he would not rule out boycotting the Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing, depending on how the situation develops in Tibet.

France will be in the European Union president's chair for the second half of the year, and Sarkozy said he wanted to consult with other EU leaders before deciding.

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown, like President Bush, has insisted that he will attend the Summer Games.