Scuffles broke out and several protesters were arrested at the Olympic torch relay in Australia.

One protester ran into the path of the flame and sat down cross-legged about 10 metres in front of the torch runner before police hauled him away. The relay run around Canberra, the capital, was not interrupted.

Tibeten activists set alight a Chinese flag as the official program began with an Aboriginal welcoming ceremony. Police led away one person, who did not resist.

Other incidents occurred away from the torch, including one in which three Tibetan women lay down in the path of a convoy of vehicles at Parliament House. Another protester shouted "Stop killing in Tibet, stop killing in Tibet" as he, too, was led away by police.

Six people were detained by police at isolated demonstrations as thousands of people gathered at parks and along the route. Officers, dressed in track-suit bottoms, T-shirts and baseball-style caps, formed a loose cordon around each runner.

People carrying Chinese flags strongly outnumbered those carrying Tibetan flags or placards criticising Beijing's human rights record.

Pro-Tibet groups estimated about 500 supporters came to Canberra for peaceful protests. In response, Chinese student groups organised bus trips from Sydney and other cities for those wanting to support the relay.

Organisers had worried that chaotic demonstrations that have marred the event elsewhere could be repeated in the Australian capital. Police erected crowd-control barriers and vowed that nothing would stop the torch from completing its trip through Canberra.

The Canberra route was shortened following security concerns, but will still pass along a 16km (10 mile) route past Parliament House and within 180m of the Chinese Embassy.

Three Chinese torch officials were to be allowed near the flame, but police said that they had no security role. Australian officials have sought to play down the role of the Chinese security team that has surrounded the flame on the relay.

Security around the 80 torchbearers for the three-hour relay has been boosted although the several hundred police expected to be deployed is far fewer than the thousands who guarded the flame in India and Indonesia. Officials say that expenditure on security has doubled in recent weeks to $A2 million.