EVERETT – A local company’s interest in port security has spawned an ambitious venture to place advertising on thousands of shipping containers destined for the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing.

The China8 Project, the brainchild of Everett’s Paul Willms, has gathered the assistance of former Gov. Gary Locke and enthusiasm from business partners in China.

“We’re gathering speed,” said Willms, founder of Erudite Inc. and president of China8. “We got an unbelievable response in China as far as their acceptance of the project.”

He explained he wants the China8 Project to simultaneously work as a goodwill mission, a promotional tool for advertisers and as a demonstration of Erudite’s container security and tracking technology.

The goodwill, humanitarian angle is covered by the fact that many of the project’s shipping containers will bring medical and education supplies to China.

Organizers promoted the project Wednesday, exactly a year before the Aug. 8, 2008, kickoff of the Olympics in China. A sister company to Erudite, GBoards Inc., has been set up to market the idea of selling ads on shipping containers.

“We’re taking the world’s oldest advertising medium, the public billboard, and putting it in motion,” said John Anderson, Erudite’s chief executive.

For $30,000, China8 will wrap two sides of a shipping container with an advertiser’s message. The containers will then be placed in “very specific” locations around Beijing and Shanghai for 180 days, including during the Olympics, Anderson said.

With an Erudite security device attached to the container, advertisers also will be able to know where the containers are displayed during the games.

China8’s principals traveled to China earlier this year and found great interest from companies in that nation and from government authorities. Anderson said Locke’s previous experience and contacts in China helped greatly.

Time will tell if U.S. advertisers flock to the idea as well. Willms said this week marked the marketing kickoff here for the project.

In addition to shipping needed supplies to China, China8 intends to sponsor a $500,000 scholarship art contest for middle school students in North America to promote curiosity about Chinese culture and history. It also has stated that 10 percent of the project’s gross profits will support the Hope Hospital Project, an endeavor to create 100 new hospitals in rural China.

Reporter Eric Fetters: 425-339-3453 or fetters@heraldnet.com.