ATHENS ø Greece has come under heavy U.S. pressure to allow the American delegation to the Olympic Games to carry firearms.

Greek officials said the Bush administration has pressed the government of Prime Minister Kostas Karamanlis to allow for the arrival of U.S. security guards with firearms. The officials said the United States wants a separate U.S. security force to guard American athletes during the Olympic Games in August.

So far, government sources and media reports said Greek leaders have agreed to the U.S. demand. But they said Greece has stressed that such a U.S. security force must be limited to certain areas of the Olympic Village and must stay close to U.S. athletic teams.

Greek government spokespeople and ministers have played down U.S. security demands regarding the Olympic Games. They said the United States has been intimately involved in the security preparations for the games that obviate the need for a separate security force.

"Such inaccuracies and rumors do not further the national cause, especially at a time when the planning of Olympics security has been completed and has begun to be put into effect," Public Order Minister George Voulgarakis said.

Voulgarakis said the United States has not raised the issue of a separate security force at the Olympics. But Greek media have quoted government sources as saying that Athens pledged to allow U.S. security officers to bring their weapons and have full access to the Olympic Village.

"The government categorically denies the relevant information on this issue," Greek government spokesman Theodoros Roussopoulos said.

Greece has also requested NATO help to protect the country's air space and waters during the Olympic Games. NATO has pledged to bring at least two airborne early-warning and alert systems for the August event.

On June 4, Karamanlis received the president of the Athens 2004 Olympic Organizing Committee, Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki. Ms. Angelopoulos-Daskalaki briefed the prime minister on the preparations for the games.

"All the countries that have hosted games in the past had agreed to the presence also of guards as delegation escorts," Ms. Angelopoulos-Daskalaki said. "However, the role of armed guards, together with the overall responsibility for Olympic security, is assumed by our country, because we are in Greece and we are holding the Games in our country. The minister for public order has stated this to all foreign parties."