July 21 (Bloomberg) -- Dog is off the menu, model planes are grounded and post-office patrons must show identification before mailing a letter. Welcome to Beijing three weeks before the Olympics.

China's game-ready capital went live yesterday, with double the security screenings at airports, new traffic rules and a ban on ``flying objects'' as the government seeks to ensure that nothing -- from gridlock to a terrorist attack -- spoils the country's coming-out party.

Beijing's investment in security may be 50 percent more than Athens spent in 2004. In addition to the traditional safety risks any Olympic host faces, China is also preparing for potential domestic dissent and political protests. The city has readied an anti-terror force of 100,000, as well as 150,000 security guards and 290,000 volunteers to help keep order, according to the official Xinhua News Agency.

``It is not just management or control of demonstrators, as in other countries,'' Dane Chamorro, regional general manager for North Asia at consulting firm Control Risks, said in an interview from Shanghai. China's goal is preventing ``any such public display, which is a different and more resource- intensive undertaking.''

Riots by as many as 30,000 people in southwestern China three weeks ago, a knife attack at a Shanghai police station that killed six officers on July 1 and arrests of 82 alleged terrorists in the western Xinjiang region reinforce the potential threat.

Athletes Killed

The importance of protection during the Olympics increased after 11 Israeli athletes were killed during the 1972 games in Munich, Germany, by a Palestinian terrorist group. The need was emphasized again in 1996, after a bomb killed one person and injured 111 in Atlanta, Georgia.

``A security operation for an Olympics games is a huge undertaking,'' said David Gray, an adviser at Intelligent Risks Pty Ltd. in Sydney, a consulting company that has been involved in planning at least five games, including Beijing. ``It would be surprising and alarming if they hadn't applied very substantial resources.''

Guards in uniforms -- green for military, blue for police -- line the ancient bridges between the Gate of Heavenly Peace and Tiananmen Square, the site of anti-government demonstrations in 1989. More guards search bags before visitors are allowed into the square itself.

Bag and Body Checks

The Beijing airport yesterday began checking travelers' bags and bodies for explosives before they enter the terminals, with another screening after check-in once they're inside. Subway stations have been equipped with airport-style scanners, and uniformed workers wield metal-detector batons for random searches.

Vehicles coming to Beijing must pass through what the Beijing Public Security Bureau calls ``three defense lines'' -- a gauntlet of stops in neighboring provinces on roads heading for the capital, on major roads from Beijing's suburbs into the central city and finally on streets downtown. Anyone without proper identification and license -- or any vehicle or person deemed suspicious -- may be detained or turned back. Even people who want to mail letters and packages at post offices must show official identification.

The Chinese army has set up missile launchers around the main Olympic facilities to fend of air attacks and will enforce a no-fly zone over the city. The public-security bureau has instituted its own no-fly order, banning model airplanes and hot-air balloons around universities and schools because of what it says are general safety reasons.

No Tourists Allowed

The government's cost for all these security measures may total as much as $1.5 billion, according to Richard Chase, the chief executive officer of the Security Industry Association, a trade group based in Alexandria, Virginia. He said the bill for Athens was about $1 billion.

``A safe Olympics is the biggest sign of a successful Olympics'' and the best reflection on ``our nation's image,'' Vice President Xi Jinping said July 9.

The government's commitment to success includes efforts to forestall embarrassing culture clashes. To avoid shocking some visitors, the city has officially banned dog meat from Olympics-contracted restaurants and other eating places foreigners are likely to go, Xinhua reported July 10.

No Political Protests

Other restrictions reflect China's sensitivity to the prospect of political demonstrations.

Peking University is restricting campus access to its faculty and 46,000 students; the university was a major source of the activism that grew into the Tiananmen Square anti- government protests. Visitors must know someone who will vouch for their identity, effectively keeping tourists out. Beijing University of Technology has adopted the same rules.

The Beijing Olympics organizing committee has also prohibited banners and leaflets with religious, political, military, human-rights or environmental themes at all venues. That includes anything the committee says might violate the fairness of the Olympics, such as signs that read ``Go China'' and coordinated clothing for groups of spectators.

``Where do you strike the right balance between addressing security risks and applying excessive measures that have the perceived effect of inconveniencing and interfering with normal enjoyment?'' said Gray of Intelligent Risks. ``It's an irresistible temptation for people to bring their causes to the games.''

To contact the reporter on this story: Dune Lawrence in Beijing at dlawrence6@bloomberg.net

Last Updated: July 20, 2008 12:27 EDT