Olympic officials consider EPO testing

Olympic officials are meeting today in Switzerland to decide whether tests for a banned hormone should be introduced at the forthcoming games in Sydney.

Two tests are being proposed for the hormone, EPO, which has been at the centre of a number of scandals.

The BBC sports correspondent say the issue is a difficult one, as approving a test that is later found to be flawed could lead to costly court cases.

But our correspondent says rejecting the tests would leave the Olympic movement open to criticism for not doing enough to fight the use of performance enhancing drugs.

EPO, or erythropoietin, increases an athlete's stamina by boosting the production of red blood cells.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service