PITTSBURGH -- The security presence watching over Pittsburgh during the G-20 economic summit this week will be like nothing the city has ever seen -- and much of that effort was on display Tuesday.

Channel 4 Action News was among media members invited to the Multi-Agency Communications Center. It's the focal point of efforts by more than 50 federal, state and local agencies to keep visiting world leaders and the public safe.

Photo Slideshow - See Inside The MACC

Team 4's Jim Parsons reported that law enforcement at the MACC will, for the first time, have access to feeds from 200 security cameras at private corporations and the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University.

"You can get into downtown Pittsburgh," Mayor Luke Ravenstahl said. "It will be a normal business day for many businesses. Everybody should feel safe in downtown Pittsburgh Thursday and Friday" -- the two days that world leaders will meet at the David L. Lawrence Convention Center.

Departments involved in the security effort range from Allegheny County's 911 center to the National Geospatial Intelligence Agency, which can gather satellite pictures.

"The thing that we're concerned about, obviously, is that someone is going to try to disrupt an event, disrupt any part of the process," U.S. Secret Service spokesman Ed Donovan said. "We don't want the story to be security. We want the story to be the diplomatic process and the city of Pittsburgh."

State police will have 1,200 troopers in the area -- including 20 mounted troopers, a special bicycle unit and helicopters and airplanes.

The Pennsylvania National Guard was training Tuesday at the Hunt Armory in Shadyside as it prepared to lead a task force of 2,500 troops and other Department of Defense personnel for crowd control and other duties.

"We do have the capability of being armed, but mostly we will be with law enforcement officials who will be armed," said Major Gen. Randy Marchi, of the Pennsylvania National Guard.

U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan said protesters who try to disrupt the G-20 and get arrested inside the downtown security perimeter that the Secret Service has established could be charged with federal offenses.
Map - See The Security Perimeter

"If anyone interferes with that, we have the ability to prosecute that offense as an attack or an attempted attack on a foreign dignitary," Buchanan said.

The MACC will be staffed from Wednesday evening until Friday evening. The media has agreed to keep the center's location a secret.

Related Link: Understanding The G-20

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What Is The G-20?

G-20 -- the Group of 20 Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors -- was established in 1999 "to bring together systemically important industrialized and developing economies to discuss key issues in the global economy," according to its Web site, G20.org.

Countries from all over the world -- including the U.S., Canada, China, France, Germany, India, South Korea, Saudi Arabia and Russia -- are involved in the G-20 summit.

The gathering typically attracts a variety of protestors from around the world. In April, London saw mostly peaceful protests about economic policy, the banking system and bankers' bonuses, climate change concerns and the war on terror.
Photo Slideshow: World Leaders, Protests At G-20 Summit

During the last G-20, a peaceful protest dubbed "Financial Fools' Day" was held April 1 by the Pittsburgh Organizing Group, a local anarchist group. Members and supporters gathered in Market Square before marching around downtown, stopping at several banks and government offices.

More Info: What Is G-20?

Official Web Site: PittsburghG20.org