Clegg, in Beijing this week with a delegation of officials, said the British Olympic Association (BOA) was looking for an improvement in sports other than cycling, rowing, equestrian and athletics at the 2008 Summer Games.

"We have to deliver it in Beijing, this is not a dress rehearsal for London (2012)" he told Reuters.

"What we want to see is development in sports where Britain hasn't traditionally been strong."

Up to 200 youngsters who fail to get into a British team Clegg believes will be around 320-strong will still get the chance to go to the Chinese capital.

The athletes will stay in the British preparation base in Macau and be brought up to Beijing in groups of 40 -- each led by an Olympic gold medallist "to inspire them" -- so they can watch their specific sports taking place.

"We want to give them the closest possible experience to taking part in the Olympic Games," Clegg said.

Clegg, who is on his "seventh or eighth" visit to Beijing, said the BOA delegation had met Beijing Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (BOCOG) officials on Wednesday and had been on a tour of some of the Games venues.

BEIJING POLLUTION

"We raise issues with BOCOG in what we hope is a constructive way to let them know the difficulties we face in operating in this environment," he said. "This is completely normal."

One area of concern for many is Beijing's notorious pollution, which still regularly leaves the city swathed in smog.

"It is something that is a concern for us, but we are taking what the Chinese say about their efforts to deal with it very seriously," Clegg said.

"I have huge confidence in the ability of BOCOG and the Chinese state to put on a fantastic Games. You only have to see what they've done over the last four or five years here in Beijing.

"The venues are superb and the Bird's Nest stadium is truly awe-inspiring," he added.

Britain was 10th in the medals table at the 2004 Athens Games and fourth place is the target for London, an aspiration which will be made more difficult if Chinese sportsmen and women continue to go from strength to strength.

"As I've said before, the rest of the world is in awe of the emergence of this sporting super-state," he said.

"That said, there is no such thing as an easy Olympic gold medal and whatever they achieve will be the result of the hard work of the coaches and athletes.

"That does make it even more challenging for us as we look at our aspirations for 2012."