BEIJING--After 20 years' absence from the Olympics, the International Military Sports Council (CISM) on Thursday opened its village at the Beijing Olympic Games.

"We appreciate the Chinese military's great efforts to bring the village back to the Olympics," CISM President Gianni Gola said while opening the village at a Chinese military sports base in southwest Beijing.

CISM village made its debut at the Rome Olympics in 1960. The 1972 Munich Olympics and the 1988 Seoul Olympics also set up a CISM village. But the following Olympic Games failed to build a village.

Major General Wang Pei, head of the CISM village at Beijing, said the village is a tangible symbol of CISM's support to the Beijing Games.

It will provide an important platform to enhance the friendship between military people around the world, said Wang, who is a senior official of the General Staff of the Chinese People's Liberation Army.

"The Chinese military will do its best to provide all possible services to the guests in the village," he said.

"This village is the best," Gola said, citing sound sports facilities and good accommodation.Gola said the basic goal of the village is to give a chance for military athletes and officials to stay together.

"At the same time, we want to show the flag of the CISM," he said. "We want to show the international sports world that military sports is an integral part of the Olympic movement."

From August 7 to 25, the CISM village will house 61 military officials from 13 countries and the CISM. They will attend the opening and closing ceremonies of the Games, watch some events and hold a meeting with military athletes who attend the Games.

With headquarters in Brussels, CISM is the largest authority for military sports activity in the world. It has 131 member nations.