The Olympic Delivery Authority (ODA) and builder Lend Lease are investigating the possibility of cutting the number of apartments from 3,000 to 2,750 to try to cut costs.

 

It will be the second cut in the number of rooms as they have already been reduced from 3,500.

 

Lend Lease are struggling to raise the finance necessary to bankroll the project because of the current financial situation.

 

John Armitt, the chairman of the ODA, admitted last week that they had raised half the money needed for the Village but because of the economic climate may have to use money from the special contingency fund to get the rest.

 

One option being closely studied is further reducing the amount of apartments and housing more athletes and officials in them.

 

Up to 17,000 people are expected to need accommodation during the Olympics, about 11,000 of them athletes, which would work out at about six per apartment.

 

At the Olympics in Beijing last month the Athletes Village had 3,276 apartments and offered a combination of two and four bedroom units with many athletes enjoying the luxury of having their own rooms.

 

Simon Clegg, the Chef de Mission of the British team, said that the facilities in Beijing had "raised the bar" for London 2012 while Jacques Rogge, the President of the International Olympic Committee, called them the "best-ever".

 

But it is looking increasingly likely that in London athletes will have to share a room with each other with only the luckiest getting to be on their own.

 

The Olympics Minister Tessa Jowell said: "We will almost certainly have to reduce the number of units, flats and apartments from the original number."

 

But the Government and officials know that they cannot cut too many corners because the apartments are due to be sold as new homes after the Games and sales from them could help recoup the original cost of building them.