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    Olympic venues clamp down on threat posed by Wi-Fi hotspots, oversized hats

    Olympic venues clamp down on threat posed by Wi-Fi hotspots, oversized hats

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    LOCOG, London's olympic organizing committee, has released guidance for what visitors to the 2012 Olympics can and can't bring with them to venues.

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    prohibited items olympics
    prohibited items olympics

    To say that LOCOG, the London Olympics organizing committee, has seen its share of negative press would be an understatement. It's been flagged for draconian rules on social networking, mixing up the Czech and Croatian national anthems on iTunes, and refusing to allow fries to be sold without a minimum quota of fish. In a document titled 'Prohibited items' the committee lays out what you can and can't take with you to the games. As well as expected bans on firearms, knives, narcotics and spray paints, LOCOG is prohibiting visitors to carry more than 100ml of liquid, tripods, hard-sided bags (such as briefcases), oversized hats, and, curiously, Wi-Fi hotspots.

    LOGOG's guidance specifies that "personal/private wireless access points and 3G hubs" will not be permitted inside Olympic venues. It will, however, allow "smart devices such as Android phones, iPhones, and tablets," but only if you promise not to use them as wireless hotspots. While LOCOG hasn't explained its reasoning behind any of the decisions, GigaOm speculates that it may have something to do with Olympic sponsor BT's position as "official communications services partner." BT has 1,500 paid hotspots at Olympic sites, with prices starting from £5.99 ($9.28) for 90 minutes use, and the committee may be protecting its sponsor's interests with the ban.