Beijing - The International Olympic Committee on Saturday promised to donate 4 million dollars to help with relief work in earthquake-devastated areas of south-western China's Sichuan province.

IOC spokeswoman Giselle Davies said the Beijing Olympic organizing committee (BOCOG) and the Chinese Olympic Committee would donate another 2 million dollars each for earthquake relief, making a total donation of 8 million dollars from the three parties.

IOC President Jacques Rogge and Beijing Mayor Guo Jinlong were among the officials who attended the donation ceremony in Beijing.

The IOC's donation of 4 million dollars follows an earlier one of 1 million dollars for victims of the May 12 earthquake, which killed at least 70,000 people, with nearly 20,000 others still listed as missing.

Some towns and villages close to the epicentre of the earthquake were completely destroyed.

The United Nations last month launched an appeal for another 33.5 million dollars for "early recovery support" to assist earthquake victims in Sichuan.

An aftershock measuring 6.1 on the Ritcher scale shook much of the quake-hit area of Sichuan on Friday afternoon, injuring 231 people, four critically.

The aftershock destroyed 540 houses and damaged 2,450 others on Friday in Sichuan's Pingwu county alone, state meida said.

It was the latest and one of the strongest of thousands of aftershocks following the May 12 quake. (dpa)