Rogge praises Athens security

OLYMPICS SECURITY Budget: £350m ($600m) Staff: Over 58,000 police and military Security partners: US, Britain, Spain, Germany, France, Israel, Australia

International Olympic Committee president Jacques Rogge is confident the 2004 Athens Games will be safe, despite the threat of terrorism.

A budget of £350m has been set aside for security, following the 11 September attacks on the USA and the Afghanistan and Iraq wars.

"Everything that's humanly possible has been put in place," Rogge said.

"If it means more security checks, if we see more armed forces and measures have to be taken, then let it be."

Greece will deploy more than 45,000 armed security officers before and during next year's Olympics, three times as many as in the Sydney 2000 Games.

The IOC president said: "We have hired former Olympics security chiefs and a great number of countries are collaborating with the Greek government."

Rogge also praised the organisers' progress in preparations, which for years were behind tight IOC schedules.

He said: "The general message is preparation is going extremely fine but the sense of urgency and time cannot be lost."