Athletes or officials caught dealing in anabolic steroids at the Sydney 2000 Olympics may be jailed under laws the Australian government is considering.

But plans to test athletes for the latest vogue drug at the Sydney Games appear to have collapsed because scientists cannot persuade elite Australian sportsmen and women to take part in a trial.

A parliamentary report calls for more consistency in Australian laws covering drug offences, and proposes making traffickers in anabolic steroids face the same penalties as heroin and cocaine dealers, which can be a life sen tence.

Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates last month argued that the penalty for possession and trafficking of steroids should be the same as those for illicit narcotics.

The Australian Institute of Sport believes it has come up with a test to detect erythropoietin (EPO), the hormone that aids stamina by boosting red blood cell production.

But officials said yesterday the delay in running a trial meant they would probably be unable to persuade the IOC to adopt the test before 2000.

AIS sports sciences director Dr Ross Smith said the problem had been finding athletes close to elite level to take part in the trial. He hopes a trial can begin in February.