The software and technology to be used in the 2010 US census will undergo a series of tests to make sure it is up to speed, according to a bureau head.
These tests are said to be thorough and necessary to ensure the event goes off without a hitch.
Robert Graves, the director of the Census Bureau, told Nextgov that the bureau was intending to "make sure we break the system to measure the capacity".
He also defended the time the census is taking to check its systems, adding: "The other thing that's notable [is] we're 80 per cent through opening 500 different local census offices, each of which has its own computer network issues."
The census is due to take place in the new year and will involve mailing 120 million questionnaires around the country to undertake the biggest nationwide census of information in US history.