Olympic host Beijing on Saturday launched a security operation across the capital pledging strict urban management and good social order to ensure a "safe Olympic Games".

The move, called "Action for a Safe Olympics", will first crack down on gangster-related crimes and tighten surveillance on entertainment venues such as karaoke bars and bath houses.

Wang Anshun, Communist Party deputy chief of Beijing, said the overall requirement of the operation was to ensure "no big incidents, a fall in lesser incidents, strict management and good social order".

"A comprehensive survey on rented houses and immigrant populations will be a major task," said the official. "Foreigners who are found to have illegally entered, dwelled and worked in Beijing will also be included in the move."

(Xinhua News Agency January 13, 2008)