The deployment, dubbed the 'Operation Candle 2008', will last from December 24 to January 2.

'The targets are churches and the Christians who are going to the Christmas mass,' national police spokesman Abubakar Nataprawira told AFP.

'We'll safeguard churches, malls, recreation areas and places that visitors are staying against attacks,' he said.

'The police will put more attention to big cities, such as Jakarta, Medan and Surabaya, as they have more people there.'

The force did not specify how many extra officers the deployment amounted to but the spokesman said: 'During normal times we just have (the) regular security effort.' Indonesia, which is the biggest Muslim-majority country in the world, has a sizeable number of Christians in North Sumatra, North Sulawesi and West Papua.

Indonesia staged an counter-terrorism drill at its stock exchange on Wednesday, mimicking last month's attacks that killed 172 people in Mumbai.

President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono requested the exercise to anticipate a terrorist strike such as the one in the Indian city, the police said. -- AFP