Beijing: Beijing will set aside thousands of hospital beds for emergency use during the 2008 Olympic Games in case of outbreaks of infectious diseases, state media reported on Sunday.

By the time the Games begin in August 2008, the city would have 6,350 beds and 144 hospitals equipped to diagnose and treat infectious diseases like bird flu and SARS, Xinhua news agency said, citing the Beijing Disease Prevention and Control Centre.

"In the past, the outbreak of an infectious disease might not be reported in Beijing for up to a week. Now the delay has been reduced to less than 10 hours," Xinhua said, citing the Centre.

China was widely criticised for its initial cover-up of the SARS virus, which originated in southern Guangdong province in 2002 and rapidly spread around the world, infecting about 8,000 people and killing 800.

An outbreak in Beijing panicked residents and caused many to stay indoors for weeks on end in 2003 for fear of infection. China is also seen as crucial in the fight to control birdflu, which last week killed a teenage boy in eastern Anhui province.

China has now reported 24 human cases of the H5N1 virus, including 15 deaths, since 2003. Last month, China launched a campaign to vaccinate billionsof domestic poultry to guard against outbreaks occurring this spring, when the bird-borne virus is at its most contagious.