BEIJING, July 18 -- Beijing says it will offer and safeguard telecommunications services during the upcoming Olympic Games. The Vice Minister of Industry and Information Technology Xi Guohua announced the government's measures at a news conference Thursday afternoon.

He says the preparation of telecommunications services at Olympic venues, media centers, the Olympic Village and relevant hotels and hospitals, has started two years ago.

He told the conference that the systems are now basically ready.

The vice minister says technology will play a crucial role. He says the "TD-SCDMA", China's homegrown 3G communications technology, will take center stage during the Olympics. Emergency communications systems are also ready for the Games.

(Source: CCTV.com)