Forget competing with Shaquille O'Neal. Rockets center Yao Ming might be the next Jerry Lewis.

Yao's planned offseason departure from media attention will take a radical turn back to the spotlight this weekend when he hosts a live telethon in Shanghai, China, to benefit SARS treatment and research.

Like so much else about Yao's life as the center of attention, the event has become so enormous it has drawn the involvement of a who's who of NBA stars and -- depending on how many Chinese networks pick up the satellite feed -- could be made available to an estimated 1 billion viewers. It airs Sunday evening in China.

"I just feel that there is an obligation as a celebrity to repay society and lead the way for other Chinese basketball players to do more in the way of community service," Yao, 22, said through his cousin and agent, Erick Zhang, in Shanghai. "This is a great opportunity to do that and a great cause."

The cause was considered great enough that the three-hour broadcast will include videotaped messages from O'Neal, Tracy McGrady, Allen Iverson, Tim Duncan, Steve Nash, Dirk Nowitzki, Dikembe Mutombo, Phil Jackson, Bill Walton, Magic Johnson, Kevin McHale and NBA commissioner David Stern.

Rockets guard Steve Francis, coach Rudy Tomjanovich and president George Postolos also taped messages.

After completing his video message, Francis made a $10,000 donation that was matched by Reebok.

"Steve Francis throughout the season and by donating this money to this cause has shown leadership at its highest level," Yao said. "I want to publicly acknowledge his support and appreciate his leadership."

Yao's representatives are working on involvement from a variety of celebrities in and out of basketball, and they have been in talks with representatives of former Presidents Bill Clinton and George Bush.

Yao will have a co-host, but he will have a much larger role in the program than he ever has.

But that seems only right. The telethon was his idea.

"He's hosting it, producing it, you name it," Yao's marketing representative, Bill Sanders, said. "When he got home, he was blown away by the impact SARS has had. He got off the plane, and there was health screening at the airport, people in masks, people in chemical suits sterilizing everything. He said he wanted to do something about this, and this plan was devised."

Shanghai TV will televise the telethon and make it available via satellite to every Chinese television network. As of early Wednesday Shanghai time, there were firm commitments from networks that would make the telethon available to between 250 million and 300 million people in China.

Zhang said there are talks that could make it available to as many as 1 billion viewers, though the more likely estimates are that it will be available to 600 million viewers in China, with about 60 million watching.

NBA TV is also in talks about televising the telethon in some form.

The NBA and Upper Deck have provided a variety of signed memorabilia items from Michael Jordan, Tiger Woods and other stars. The NBA also donated a pair of airline tickets from China to Houston for next season's Rockets season opener. Donations have also been made by Nike, Pepsi (Gatorade), Apple Computers and Avery-Denison (a consumer goods company).

Yao, who will report to the Chinese national team May 19, has been signing hundreds of shoes and other items to raise money during the telethon.

Though it might be premature to consider Yao and his Mother's Day telethon a successor to Jerry Lewis and his Labor Day tradition, Yao is at least off to a good start.

"He knows about it now," Zhang said of Lewis. "I made sure to tell him."

Rockets rookie Yao Ming to host telethon to raise money for SARS

Event Raises More than $300,000 for Research

China's number of new cases reported Sunday was 69, the lowest number in weeks, with five deaths. Premier Wen Jiabao said officials must redouble efforts against the disease.

"There absolutely can be no simply going through the motions, no acting in a superficial way," Wen said, according to the official Xinhua News Agency. He warned of the dangers in Shanxi and other poor, rural areas.

The worldwide SARS toll rose to at least 536 with 10 new deaths - five in China, three in Hong Kong and one each in Taiwan and Singapore. More than 7,300 people have been infected in more than 25 countries.

Yao, the 7-foot-6 center for the Houston Rockets, answered questions about his first season in the NBA and signed memorabilia for callers. The three-hour telethon broadcast from his hometown of Shanghai raised more than $300,000 to help researchers seeking a cure. SARS has killed at least 240 people in China, the most of any country.

"I returned to my motherland but found it struggling through a most serious trial. Now everyone needs to make their contribution to the fight against SARS," said Yao, who is immensely popular at home.

Yao had a little help from his friends. Chinese national soccer player Qi Hong and women's national soccer team captain Sun Wen made appearances, and NBA players and former stars including Shaquille O'Neal and Magic Johnson appeared in videotaped messages.

"I love you, xie xie, peace," said O'Neal, using the Chinese word for thank you.

Beijing reported four new deaths and 42 new cases, continuing a steady decline in the number of new infections reported in the city. The World Health Organization, however, says it is far too early to say the disease is on the decline in Beijing or China and that a key issue is trusting the veracity of the Chinese reports.

"The problem is there are still questions on how those numbers are being compiled and analyzed," WHO spokesman Iain Simpson said. "We would love to take the numbers at face value, but at the moment we're just not sure if we can or not."

Taiwan announced the death of a hospital nurse, raising its death toll to 19, and 12 new cases. Taiwan is installing video cameras to keep watch over about 8,000 people quarantined in their homes.

In a new restriction, all passengers on Taipei's subway system must wear medical masks. When the measure took effect Sunday, the usual din of conversation on trains was absent.

In Hong Kong, where 215 people have died and 1,678 have been infected, four new cases were reported Sunday.

A researcher who helped pioneer a drug cocktail treatment for AIDS patients said the SARS virus seems to attack human cells in a manner akin to HIV, a finding that may help treat the illness.

Dr. David Ho, scientific director of the Aaron Diamond AIDS Research Center in New York, said there were promising results from laboratory tests on the SARS virus using an anti-HIV treatment - synthetic peptides, which are amino acids that slow AIDS in an expensive drug called Fuzeon. Tests using animals could take place soon, though it is too early to use such medications to treat human SARS patients.

"We're not saying this is the drug to treat (SARS) patients tomorrow or next month," Ho said in Hong Kong.