Beijing health authorities have recorded 633 people new HIV cases so far this year, bringing the capital's total to 3,462.

The 633 cases included 130 local residents, 491 migrant workers and 12 foreigners, Jin Dapeng, director of Beijing Municipal Health Bureau, said on Monday.

High-risk groups, including sex workers and drug addicts, are still the major source of the HIV carriers, said the official.

Bureau figures show 39.2 percent of the drug addicts in Beijing are infected with the disease and 26.7 percent of sex workers are HIV positive.

Jin said Beijing has set up six specialized clinics providing HIV carriers with medicines, primarily methadone, and treatment in its six districts.

Needle exchange centers were established in most of Beijing's urban districts and most hotels in the city provided free condoms, Jin added.

As of October, about 185,000 migrant workers from 386 large construction sites in Beijing and 51,000 people working in the city's entertainment places had received AIDS prevention education, he said.

Beijing saw 679 more HIV cases in 2005, up 35.26 percent than 2004.

According to Ministry of Health, China had an estimated 650,000 HIV carriers, including 75,000 AIDS patients, by the end of last year.

(Xinhua News Agency November 21, 2006)