The travel chaos warnings worked too well for the liking of many central London shops, but Christian retailers have been taken aback by the demand for their Olympics products.

A consortium of over 20 agencies coordinated by More Than Gold has seen bumper levels of demand for their resources.

Verite is one such member of the consortium. The publisher produced a slim-line 'mini mag' with information about the Games and stories of athletes who live out their Christian faith.

The mag was produced for churches to give away during their Olympic-related events.

So far, they have sold 200,000 copies, twice the number they were expecting.

Verite director Chris Powell said: "Our print run of 100,000 copies was sold out by May and we had to do a hasty reprint.

"The demand has been far beyond our expectations and shows how well the churches have done in reaching out to those around them."

Publishers Deo Gloria hoped to sell 20,000 copies of their booklet, On Your Marks, based on the St Mark's Gospel.

In the end, they had to print an additional 10,000 copies to keep up with demand.

Deo Gloria director Eric Thompson said: "The Diamond Jubilee seems to have warmed people up and started a momentum for churches wanting to reach out through the Olympic Games."

Also enjoying high demand is Bible Society's special edition Sports Bible, which has so far sold over 8,000 copies.

The Bibles have been made available in the chaplaincy area of the Olympic Village and there is also demand across the UK.

Karen Wilson, production editor at the Bible Society said: "Our Sports Bibles have done really well. They seem to have hit the right note with people."

More than 50 Olympic-related resources have been produced by the consortium, with overall sales expected to top half a million items.

David Willson, chief executive of More Than Gold said: "This is the largest set of resources ever made available to help churches respond to the Olympic and Paralympic Games.

"We are thrilled to have played a part in helping churches have the resources they need."