Cruising along

Premier cites 2004 progress before IOC inspection

ATHENS, Greece (AP) -- Premier Costas Simitis said Wednesday that venues for the 2004 Olympic Games are progressing, a day before International Olympic Committee officials are set to visit.

"[There has been] systematic work, construction progress, in line with the timetables," Simitis was quoted as saying by Tilemahos Hitiris, the government's 2004 spokesman.

"The works are going forward, the effort is being completed ... the construction sites are impressive."

Simitis made the remarks during a routine meeting with 2004 organizers and the government's top Olympic officials. He visited several Olympic construction sites last week.

IOC officials are due in Athens on Thursday for a one-day visit to be updated on venue construction, transportation and finding a site for the 2004 soccer finals.

Athens Games to use seven cruise ships as hotels

ATHENS (Reuters) -- Athens 2004 Olympics organisers said on Wednesday they had decided to berth seven cruise ships in the port of Piraeus to be used as hotels during the Games.

The ships were chosen by organizers (ATHOC) through a tender and will dock next to another four, privately booked by sponsors, media, and national Olympic committees.

A day before an International Olympic Committee (IOC) inspection team visits Athens to monitor progress, organisers said the ships will add more than 6,000 much-needed first-class rooms for official visitors and spectators.

"They [the boats] have 6,640 rooms and can host up to 13,280 visitors," ATHOC said in a statement.

After scrambling to find 20,000 luxury rooms for the extended Olympic family, which includes foreign dignitaries, guests and IOC officials, games organisers are now in search of thousands of rooms to accommodate throngs of visitors.

Sydney, which hosted the previous summer games in 2000, welcomed close to 250,000 visitors.

Because of its more convenient location and the nearby sun-kissed Greek islands, Athens is expected to play host to even more visitors, combining the 2004 Olympics with their summer holidays.

Reuters contributed to this report.