The U.S. is warning businessmen and politicians planning to attend the Beijing Olympics that their laptops and PDAs are likely to be targeted by Chinese hackers.

The report in the newspaper USA Today quotes a number of security experts, who believe that the government and businesses in China will be eager to lay their hand on any valuable information they could find on their guests’ computers.

They are warning that equipment left unsupervised for just a few minutes in a hotel or even during a security screening, can be hacked, mined and bugged. 

Security expert Larry Wortzel say the risk is real.

“There is a high likelihood, virtually 100%, that if an individual is of security, political, or business interest to Chinese security services or high technology industries, their electronics can and will be tampered with or penetrated,” Wortzel added.

U.S. congressman and former FBI agent Mike Rogers says Washington doesn’t want to hurt trade relations with China.  He says officals are failing to inform Olympic visitors of the potential espionage threats. 

Rogers sits on the House Intelligence Committee, which has been briefed on Chinese espionage threats.

The Chinese Embassy hasn't commented on the espionage allegations.