BEIJING, Aug 14 (Reuter) - China's state television is to air a documentary on the Dalai Lama to counter a flurry of Western-produced films on Tibet's exiled spiritual leader that Beijing has condemned as anti-Chinese.

The overseas service of China Central Television (CCTV) would air the Chinese version of the 90-minute documentary on August 24, the Xinhua news agency said on Thursday. The English version would run on August 31.

Chinese sources said the documentary was made to counter the Western-produced films on the Dalai Lama that Beijing views as sympathetic to the Himalayan region's god-king.

Last year China protested the release of "Kundun," a movie by entertainment giant Walt Disney Co about the Dalai Lama's early life, and barred its director, Martin Scorsese, from travelling to Tibet.

The Chinese-produced documentary covers the life of the Dalai Lama only until 1959, when he fled his Himalayan homeland into exile in India after an abortive uprising against communist rule, Chinese sources said.

It is the first of a two-part series funded by the State Council, or cabinet, the sources said.

Xinhua said the documentary showed how the Dalai Lama cooperated with Beijing from 1954 to 1959, but later "embarked on the path of splitting the motherland."

Chinese officials and media regularly accuse the Dalai Lama of seeking to split Tibet from the rest of China, and have tried to discredit him.

The Dalai Lama, who won the 1989 Nobel Peace Prize for his non-violent campaign for more autonomy for his homeland, denies he is seeking Tibetan independence, but says he wants a higher degree of self-government for his people.

The documentary features more than 20 firsthand accounts of historical events, including interviews with the Dalai Lama's relatives, cooks, serfs and fellow villagers, Xinhua said.

Much of the film's footage has never been broadcast before, a CCTV official said.

"This programme took more time than most similar projects. We invested more manpower, equipment, and money than usual," he said by telephone. 123