IN AN attempt to improve the image of the United States on the international stage, American Olympians arriving here are being given briefings on how to behave. The briefings include very specific instructions as to how athletes should conduct themselves in public, how to handle victory or defeat on the sporting stage and how they are to use the Stars and Stripes flag in celebration. The advice goes so far as to instruct athletes on how to walk in the opening and closing ceremonies.

Every Olympian from the United States coming into the Olympic Village will have sat through a briefing that lasts 75 minutes. Some of the Olympians had further talks before their departure from the United States. Bob Beamon is one of a select number of former Olympians who has been doing the rounds, giving presentations on the Olympic experience and how Americans should portray themselves abroad.

The charm offensive is a co-ordinated programme organised by the United States Olympic Committee and is largely a reaction to the acknowledged unpopularity of their nation on the international stage — particularly because of the war in Iraq. However, it also stems from the perception that Americans and sportsmanship are not particularly good bedfellows.

No one has forgotten the gloating, undignified celebrations of the US sprint relay team when they won gold in Sydney four years ago. On that occasion, Maurice Greene, Bernard Williams, Brian Lewis and Jon Drummond performed a lap of honour in which they stripped off their tops, arranged themselves in ludicrous flexed-muscle poses and adorned themselves in their national flag as if they were a team of male models. The absence of humility back then clearly still rankles today.

As Ronda Rousey, the judo fighter, said: “In our briefing, they told us we must really be polite, they don’t want us reinforcing that whole ‘Americans are rude’ thing. The idea is to try and be very, very nice to everybody.”

Or as Dennis Hall, the wrestler, said: “My main concern is to compete, but I also want to show that America is a good place. I want to let the world know that Americans are good people.”

This image realignment is there for all to see in the Olympic Village. Different quarters of the village are given over to the various competing nations and it is traditional for Olympians to drape their nation’s flag outside their windows to mark their territory. The American team this year has been instructed that no flags are to be thus displayed.

They have also been given specifics about how to carry the flag in the event of a medal celebration. The ruling is that it is OK to hold the flag up above your shoulders, but that it is not permissible to drape it around you like a cape. Neither should the flag be allowed to drop to the ground.

As another reaction to the way American behaviour was perceived in Sydney, this year’s Olympians have been given instructions for the opening ceremony. In Sydney, they arrived in no specific order and their running around and general disorder was in contrast to most other teams. This year, they have been instructed to march in tidy, straight lines. “Our Olympic committee is very conscious of us representing the United States in a very positive, friendly manner,” Steve Fraser, the wrestling coach, said.

“We’re trying to talk about behaviour,” Herman Frazier, the chef de mission of the US team, said yesterday. “As we all know, there was a lot of talk after Sydney. Nobody was happy about that and we’ll do what we can to make sure that doesn’t happen again. We’ve given briefings before, but these are much more specific. We’ve turned it up on the behaviour issue and that’s because of the condition of the world right now. We believe we should behave like solid citizens and we want to be seen that way.”

Last night, in the Olympic Village, the official US flag-raising ceremony was conducted to mark the nation’s arrival at the Games. The ceremony was short and tasteful. It was attended by some 100 American Olympic hopefuls and there was no whooping or rah-rahing, no one stripped off their top or engaged in any display of excessive patriotic fervour. The image police of the US team will have liked that; they hope that the good behaviour continues for the next three weeks.