The Influx of migrants to Beijing is not to be restricted when the city hosts the Olympic Games in August, said Ji Lin, vice mayor of Beijing, on Friday.

Beijing has tightened the inspection of "temporary residential permits" among internal migrants, and the permits are "quite necessary", said Ji, a deputy to the 11th National People's Congress, the top legislature.

"The permits are used to enhance management and provide services for the migrants," he said.

During the Olympics, wanderers and beggars are to receive assistance, said Ji without specifying the measures.

Automobiles registered outside Beijing would be under the same regulations as local vehicles, he pledged, adding that trucks would be diverted at the peripheral areas.

As the capital of the world's most populous nation, Beijing is home to about 17 million people.

Security is among the top concerns with the Olympics approaching in Beijing, where volunteers are set to patrol the streets and more than 80,000 police and security staff will be on duty at contest venues.

(Xinhua News Agency March 8, 2008)