Pyeongchang City is competing neck-and-neck with Austria's Salzburg for the right to host the 2014 Olympic Winter Games. That according to overseas-based Internet services specializing in Olympic information.

Pyeongchang's bid committee said Wednesday that the Korean city ranked first on Gamesbiz.com, followed by Salzburg and Russia’s Sochi, while the Austrian city came on top on Olympic news provider Aroundtherings.com.

Korean bid committee officials said that the international athletics community increasingly agrees that the city's advantages include the prospect of peace on the Korean Peninsula and the opportunity to spread winter sports throughout Asia.

However, government officials cautioned that the host will be determined not by objective evaluations but by the subjective votes of International Olympic Committee members.

They stressed that national support and enthusiasm are needed for Pyeongchang to be successful in its bid given the anticipated fierce competition.