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Nepal says it is prepared to use force - including gunfire - to prevent anti-Beijing protests during the Olympic torch relay up Mount Everest.

The torch is scheduled to be brought up the peak from the northern, Chinese Tibetan side in early May.

Nepal is determined to prevent protests which may damage relations with China, says the BBC's Charles Haviland in Kathmandu.

The torch has attracted protests in some cities on the relay route.

The Olympic Torch is not being taken anywhere near the Nepalese base camp.

But Nepal's military and police have been deployed in extra numbers on the southern flank of the mountain because of sensitivities over the torch.

Nepal does not want to alienate China, one of its two neighbours and a country it depends on for foreign aid and diplomatic support, reports our correspondent.

Climbers watched

A home ministry spokesman, Mod Raj Dotel, told the BBC that extra members of the army and police were to build a special checkpoint well above Everest Base Camp, at an altitude of about 6,700m (22,000 feet), to monitor all teams climbing the mountain.

He said authorities would initially attempt to negotiate an end to any attempts to use violent means to pursue what he called "anti-Chinese activities".
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But he said that if this failed, force could be used, including gunfire.

Mr Dotel said similar measures might even be taken at base camp, which is also accessible to amateur trekkers.

This season the government liaison officers who accompany each climbing team are members of the army or police.

No teams will be allowed to camp above 7,500m between 1 May and 10 May.

That means climbers, including the British adventurer Sir Ranulph Fiennes, will probably wait out the time at base camp, our correspondent says.

Nepal has also brought in rules to stop summiteers carrying items such as including cameras and electronic devices beyond base camp before 10 May.

Protests quashed

For the past six weeks Tibetan exiles in the Nepalese capital, Kathmandu, have staged regular protests against Chinese rule of Tibet.

Each time police have broken up the demonstrations, usually arresting scores of people and sometimes using batons to beat them.

The Olympic torch relay attracted some high-profile protests as it passed through certain cities on its route - notably London, Paris and San Francisco.

However, it has also made peaceful progress through other cities including Bangkok in Thailand, Dar es Salaam in Tanzania, and the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires.

The torch is currently in a secret location in Malaysia, ahead of its relay through Kuala Lumpur on Monday.