Olympic organisers confident about security

Athens Olympics organisers have claimed security arrangements for the Games were "second to none" and accused Australia of undermining…

Athens Olympics organisers have claimed security arrangements for the Games were "second to none" and accused Australia of undermining safety efforts.

Briefing representatives of all 202 nations taking part in the August 13-29 Olympics, Games chief Gianna Angelopoulos said every measure was being taken to ensure the safety of the world's biggest sporting event.

She said unwarranted criticism of the security plans could play into the hands of militant groups seeking to undermine the Games.

"I am concerned that we send a consistent message to those who wish us ill," an angry Angelopoulos said. "Telling them that there are holes in Athens security procedures and that our preparations can be circumvented when all our preparations are designed to achieve the opposite is bad security strategy."

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Australia angered Games organisers and the International Olympic Committee two weeks ago by issuing an warning to travellers to be cautious if visiting Greece after three bombs exploded in Athens three weeks ago.

Australia is a member of the seven-nation security advisory group set up by the Athens Games organisers to provide training and intelligence ahead of the Olympics.

"We want athletes to have only one concern this summer as the world looks on: delivering an Olympian performance," she said. "Unnecessarily raising their anxiety levels with uninformed comments can only distract young men and women."

Greece, hosting the first summer Games after the September 11th, 2001 attacks on US cities, is implementing the biggest ever Olympics security plan, worth 1.0 billion.

With 45,000 armed guards, NATO air and sea patrols, and a web of thousands of cameras for crowd and traffic control, the plan far exceeds security measures for the Sydney 2000 Games.