KUALA LUMPUR, June 10 (Xinhua) -- Malaysia will host the 14th ASEAN University Games here on December 11-21 this year, the organizers said on Tuesday.

    The Organizing Committee also unveiled the Games'mascot "Astronaut A1" and torch as well as its official website at a ceremony held in a hotel near the Kuala Lumpur International Airport, some 70 kilometers south of here.

    Malaysian Higher Education Minister Mohamed Khaled Nordin said that the Games this year would involve the participation of 7,000 athletes and officers from the ten member countries of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

    The ASEAN University Games was first held in 1981. This is the third time that Malaysia will host the biennial event.

    Malaysia held the Games in 1984 and 1993 respectively.