GEORGETOWN, Guyana (AP):

PREVIOUS CRICKET World Cup host South Africa is sending 70 security experts to help the nine Caribbean governments hosting this year's tournament.

Each government will have to pass special legislation to allow the security officials "to be incorpora-ted into the armed forces" in the region during the tournament in March and April, Barbados Attorney-General, Dale Marshal, said yesterday in a Caribbean Community statement.

Caricom was happy to have the expert assistance of officers trained in counter-terrorism, Marshal said.

"This is not in any way a long-term measure," he added.

Interpol, the United States, France, Britain and Canada were, among others, also helping with security for the World Cup, which features 16 teams including Australia, England, New Zealand, Pakistan, India and Zimbabwe.

For its part, the region has trained 400 military and police experts who will follow teams and fans around the venues to ensure public safety. Tourism experts say the tournament could bring in at least 300,000 tourists.

"I think it is fair to say that we have put a lot of effort in place regionally to ensure that the Caribbean will be as safe as is humanly possible," Marshal said. "Already the police forces in the region are feeling the legacy benefit of the heightened and beefed-up security arrangements."

The World Cup will be held in Antigua, Barbados, Grenada, Guyana, Jamaica, St. Lucia, St. Kitts, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, and Trinidad and Tobago from March 13 to April 28.