Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd said on Friday that the Chinese government was taking seriously the security of athletes competing in the Beijing Olympic Games.

Chinese police have cracked a terrorist cell planning to attack the Shanghai Stadium less than a fortnight before the Olyroos open their Olympic campaign at the venue.

Rudd said he had seen media reports about the incident but was yet to receive a briefing from Australia's diplomats in China.

"First and foremost (the) responsibility that we all face in partnership with our friends in the Chinese government is the security of the athletes who represent Australia," he told reporters in Port Douglas, north Queensland, according to a report of the Australian Associated Press.

"That is my first and foremost concern and, based on the evidence I have so far, the Chinese authorities are taking the security challenges in Beijing and elsewhere in China most seriously," he said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 25, 2008)