The Olympic village, home to about 16,000 athletes and officials during next month's Olympic Games, officially opened on Thursday.

"Greece has made it. Greece has succeeded in doing something that many people considered as beyond its capabilities," said Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, president of the Athens Olympic Organizing Committee (ATHOC), at the inauguration ceremony.

"At Games-time we shall answer those people doubting or disbelieving what we have already achieved. We loathe our country being underrated," she added.

Construction of the village in the Menidi suburb, about 15 km northwest of central Athens, was dogged by the same delays that hampered Athens' overall preparations.

The US$397-million complex has a hospital, drug test center, places of worship, a restaurant, a swimming pool, a track and two gyms.

ATHOC's Executive Director Marton Simitsek called the Olympic Village "the best in Olympic history".

IOC Olympic Games Executive Director Gilbert Felli also attended the inauguration ceremony. He conveyed the thanks of IOC President Jacques Rogge to all those who worked in building the Olympic Village.

"It is all beautiful in this city, but what athletes will remember above all from Greece and the Olympic village will be the everyday provision of high-level services from volunteers and other employees," said Felli.

Ioannis Manos, a member of the Full Board of ATHOC, will serve as Mayor of the Olympic village.

The Olympic village will be heavily guarded with a double perimeter fence bristling with cameras and sensors, and rooted in cement blocks designed to prevent a car bomb attack.

(Xinhua News Agency July 30, 2004)