The three characters are drawn together to form an image of Chinese character "zhong", which means many, depicting the necessity of public participation in public security during the Games, according to a statement from the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympic Games.

The symbol is in the shape of "shield", an internationally recognized image for public security, said the statement.

The symbol would be printed or attached to security facilities, banners and uniforms of security personnel, who would be identifiable by the symbol and their certification cards.

The design of the symbol started at the end of 2006 and went through several revisions.

It was unveiled yesterday by Liu Qi, secretary of the Beijing Municipal Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC), and Zhou Yongkang, State Councilor.

A total of 80,000 security guards, including police officers, professional security personnel, and government-approved volunteers, will join the security service forces for the 29th Olympic Games.

The authorities are to launch educational campaigns so they would offer "cordial, civilized, professional and high-quality" security services for the Games in August.