(Agencies)
Updated: 2008-01-10 10:35

VIENNA - Austrian prosecutors are investigating a private laboratory in Vienna accused by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) of involvement in sports doping, a government official said on Wednesday.

Sports office spokesman Roland Achatz confirmed a report in Wednesday's Kurier newspaper, quoting a letter sent by former WADA chairman Dick Pound in November.

In the letter Pound said WADA had received information naming the Humanplasma laboratory in Vienna as a source of doping for professional athletes.

"We got the letter from Mr Pound and asked the justice ministry to start an investigation into the matter which is what has now happened," Achatz told Reuters on Wednesday.

Austria's cross-country and biathlon teams were involved in a blood doping scandal at the 2006 Turin Winter Olympics that led to six athletes being banned from all future Olympic Games.

One cross-country skier, Roland Diethart, had his ban reduced to four years following a ruling last week by the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

According to Achatz, Pound's letter made no specific reference to the events in Turin.

"There is also no mention of any particular athletes or indeed any specific evidence against the company," Achatz added. "The investigation is still ongoing."

Humanplasma director Dr Lothar Baumgartner told the Kurier that the allegations were "complete nonsense", saying that his firm did not even possess the equipment needed for blood doping.

Nobody from the company was immediately available to comment further.

On Tuesday the Austrian ski federation presented plans for a comprehensive database storing information on all physical, medicinal, psychological and doping tests undergone by its athletes.

Conceived as a direct response to the Turin doping scandal, the database would be available to independent anti-doping experts in what the federation described as "a world first."