The ceremonial laying of the first stone took place in Krasnaya Polyana where the village forms part of the infrastructure of the mountain cluster.

The media centre - which will include a press conference suite, studios and offices for media representatives - will also be located there.

The development is being financed by Sberbank, a General Partner of the XXII Olympic Winter Games in Sochi.

"Generating the widest possible coverage of the event’s progress is a key goal for us," said Sochi 2014 President and chief executive Dmitry Chernyshenko.

"We are striving for Sochi 2014 to become a symbol of Russia’s openness to the entire world.

"We will be glad to welcome all journalists from all over the world to watch as events unfold."

Like all Sochi 2014 developments, the Media Village will be built according to “green” standards, using environmentally-friendly building materials and will incorporate energy and resource-saving technology, Russian officials claimed.

After the 2014 Winter Games, the village will become one of the centres of sporting and cultural life in the surrounding holiday resort, they said.

It will be turned into a pedestrianised town, which will also have an Orthodox church, a Museum of Modern History and a scale model of ancient Olympia.