London, Feb 21 (IANS): London authorities are planning a massive security exercise this week for the upcoming Olympic Games, the Metropolitan police said.

The exercise will test the response of emergency services and the British government to a potential terror attack during the Olympic and Paralympic Games, Xinhua reported.

The exercise would envision a terrorist attack Aug 7 or 8 targeting London's metro system as well as the city's transport network.

In one of the most haunting memories since World War II, a total of 52 people were killed by suicide bombers in four attacks on the London metro system July 7, 2005, a day after the International Olympic Committee (IOC) announced that London would host the 2012 Olympic and Paralympic Games.

Aldwych station, a disused former metro station in central London, will be the focus of this week's exercise.

"We want to deliver a Games where the sporting achievement and the Olympic spirit is what people will remember -- not the security, " security minister James Brokenshire was quoted as saying.

"We are determined to leave nothing to chance to deliver a safe and secure Games that London, Britain and the world can enjoy," he said.