On Monday, Olympic organizers canceled the final leg of the Paris run after demonstrators scaled the Eiffel Tower, grabbed for the flame and forced security officials to repeatedly snuff out the torch and transport it by bus past demonstrators. China condemned the protests as "despicable" but vowed to continue the relay to the end.

In San Francisco, three activists climbed the Golden Gate Bridge on Monday and tied the Tibetan flag and two banners to its cables. A series of demonstrations were planned before the relay Wednesday. A rival torch relay supporting the Tibetan movement was scheduled to take place Tuesday.

After San Francisco, the torch is scheduled to travel to Buenos Aires, Argentina, and then to a dozen other countries. It is scheduled to enter mainland China on May 4 for the host country's portion of the relay. A potential flashpoint is the scheduled relay leg through Tibet in May.

Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Jiang Yu criticized protesters who use the torch relay to "put on a political show."

"We would also like to warn those organization and forces who attempt to disrupt the Olympic Games, they try to tarnish the image of China and pressurize China," he said. "Their attempts are not going to prevail."

IOC vice presidents Gunilla Lindberg and Thomas Bach suggested the option of halting the relay would need to be discussed — particularly if there are major disturbances in San Francisco.

"Now it's come to the stage that violent people are coming in," Lindberg said. "It has nothing to do with nice demonstrations. We have to consider it."

But the widespread view among Olympic officials and IOC members was the relay should not be stopped.

"I think that would be tantamount to giving in to terrorism," Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates said.

Added senior Australian IOC member Kevan Gosper: "It would be a retreat and it would admit defeat. We're now committed with the Beijing organizing committee and we should see it through."

IOC executive board member and marketing chief Gerhard Heiberg said he was in touch with the torch relay sponsors — Coca-Cola, Samsung and Lenovo.

"They are worried, we are all worried," he said. "I think it's very sad. I was hoping we could avoid this. We haven't avoided it. I think it gives us a lesson for the future, that international torch relays should be discussed, whether we should do it or not."

The first global torch relay was held for the 2004 Athens Olympics. Organizers of the 2012 London Olympics said they have made no decision yet on their torch relay route.

The IOC has dismissed talk of countries boycotting the Beijing Games, though some politicians say they may snub the opening ceremony to protest China's policies.

"I think it's a shame that politicians use athletes as a tool for their own actual mistakes," Lindberg said. "They have not been able to solve the situation (in China) for the past 50 years or whatever."