Officials from the U.N. Interregional Crime and Justice Research Institute (UNICRI) held talks in Beijing [Images] last month on how to counter the threat of terrorism, Francesco Cappe, a security expert with UNICRI, told Reuters.

"We're ready now to provide an advisory service to countries worldwide that are organising major events," Cappe said after a meeting in Paris.

UNICRI draws on a network of specialists with expertise on security at major events such as the Olympic Games, the World Cup, G8 summits of leading industrial states, as well as religious festivals such as Islam's haj pilgrimage to Mecca.

UNICRI is based in Turin and aims to share the best worldwide practices in areas such as tackling terrorism, public order, transport and other security issues.