(BEIJING, July 22) -- Beijing is ready to test its capability to control its supply of medicines for the 2008 Olympic Games.

The "Good Luck Beijing" sports events beginning next month will see the rehearsal of an action plan, spokesman of the Beijing Pharmaceuticals inspection Bureau Cong Luoluo told the local media recently.

A 24-hour monitoring system on the drug stores around the 500 hotels and tourist spots will function during the Beijing Olympics in August 2008, Cong said.

In addition, 15 fast medicine examination vehicles will be on patrol duty along the streets of Beijing and a hotline will be set up to assist the stores to prescribe drugs in foreign languages.

Describing the medical supply in Beijing as safe, Cong said the random inspections showed that the qualification rate of the city's medicines has been over 98 percent and the number of fake medicine cases has been falling steadily. However, his bureau will further clamp down on any abuses, Cong insisted.

This year the municipal government spent 12 million yuan to buy 15 special vehicles and equipment to carry out fast inspections of traditional and Western medicines next year. Thanks to the modern technologies, the results can come out in two minutes. "If any illegal medicines are found, the store will be closed right away," Cong said.

He said beginning September this year, training will be conducted in the 500 designated drug stores so that they can provide bilingual services during the Olympics.