ATHENS, July 19: Less than a month before the start of the Athens Olympics only seven out of 100 Greeks have bought Games tickets, a nationwide study released by the Games organisers (ATHOC) showed on Monday.

Fearful of staging the world's biggest sporting event in front of empty stadiums ATHOC recently called on Greeks to snap up unsold tickets for the Aug 13-29 spectacle. ATHOC denied reports that two-thirds of tickets allocated to national Olympic committees and sponsors have been returned, but the flood of available tickets signalled otherwise.

"As for tickets there seems to be the 'last-minute solution' with 7.3 percent of Greeks having bought tickets," ATHOC said. It said the number of Athenians choosing to stay in the city during the Games was about 60 percent, although by the end of June officials said only 1.95 million of a total of 5.3 million seats had been sold.

Meanwhile, the European Union on Monday praised Greek efforts to boost security, saying Athens had taken full security precautions to protect the event. "It certainly came across as being extremely professional ... There is a comprehensive security plan," Dutch Interior Minister Johan Remkes said in Brussels after Greece presented its plans to EU justice and interior ministers at a regular meeting.

Greece will deploy up to 70,000 military, police and coastguard personnel for the Games, while NATO will provide surveillance planes, maritime patrols and a force to deal with potential chemical and biological attacks. -Reuters