SYDNEY (AFP) - Australian Olympics chief John Coates said Sunday the AOCs management will not police blogs written by its athletes at this years Beijing Games.
The International Olympic Committee has agreed to allow Games athletes to have on-line diaries, but has imposed strict limits on how they may be used.
The IOC says it has the power to expel athletes from the August Games and pursue legal action against them if they breach the guidelines.
Coates said the AOC respects the right of its athletes to have an opinion in politically-sensitive Beijing as long as they conform to the IOC guidelines.
"Were not going to gag our athletes in any way and Im certainly not going to sit up at night and read 476 blogs," Coates told reporters during a Games team managers meeting in Sydney.
"We respect the right of our athletes to have an opinion and to express it.
"Theyll be told what the guidelines are from the IOC.
"The Olympic charter says that you cant participate in political demonstrations. I dont think expressing an opinion on something amounts to a demonstration.
"But our advice to athletes is: your priority should be your performance. You shouldnt worry about these things and let it detract from that."
While Australias Olympians will be permitted to write personal blogs, their online diaries cannot be used to discuss the performances of other competitors.
Bloggers will also not be able to sell advertising space or become de facto journalists by selling their web diaries to newspapers or other commercial websites, Coates said.
There are also restrictions on using sound and moving images.
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