Australia readies high security for Games

MELBOURNE, Mar 13 (Reuters) Australian security officials are staging a huge operation to guard the Commonwealth Games starting this week, and will be fully prepared although there are no specific threats, Attorney General Philip Ruddock said today.

The security clampdown is comparable only to the Sydney 2000 Olympics, with 13,000 police and 2,500 defence personnel and private security guards either directly involved or on standby.

''It's serious, because what we know of our alert level ... is that terrorist attacks are feasible but we have no specific information in relation to the planning of a particular act,'' Ruddock told Sky News.

Australia's overall security threat level has not moved since it was set at medium soon after the September 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. A close US ally, Australia sent troops to Afghanistan and Iraq.

Ruddock said powers which could be used to safeguard the Games included shooting down aircraft which fly into ''exclusion zones'' over areas like the Melbourne Cricket Ground, venue for the opening and closing ceremonies and the athletics.

He added the number of visiting dignitaries from the 53 nations and 71 associations at the Games added an extra dimension to security planning.

Britain's Queen Elizabeth will officially open the 18th Games on Wednesday. Other dignitaries expected to visit Melbourne during trips to Australia include British Prime Minister Tony Blair and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Security around Melbourne, Australia's second-largest city, has been stepped up in recent days with police and soldiers visible and traffic restrictions put in place.

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