‘UK to deploy sound weapon in Olympics’

A device that can send verbal warnings over a long distance or emit a beam of pain-inducing noise will be used in London during the Olympics, officials said.

Britain’s Ministry of Defense confirmed the US-made long range acoustic device, spotted attached to a landing craft on the Thames River, will be available for use in the summer games.

The LRAD 1000Xi is “an effective long range communications system that broadcasts focused highly intelligible, multi-language messages, instructions and warnings over distances up to 3,000 meters (1.8 miles) to peacefully resolve uncertain situations, a spokesman for the San Diego-based LRAD Corp. said.

The corporation denies it is a weapon and the Ministry announced it would be used “primarily in the loud hailer mode”.