Tokyo has also been consistent in funding public transport, a strength compared to other bid cities.

Paris was the only bid city to rely on a single speaker to make its case, and the only one to never speak in English.

Another committee member said its charter and the contracts ask bid cities to accept liability.

The American bid city will be chosen in November 2002.

"I know what it's like for the bid city," she said yesterday.

In October 2002, it will designate one site as the American bid city.

Future bid cities would believe they'd also need to go billions of dollars into debt just to compete.

We all know bid cities make a lot of promises.

In expanding its investigation to other bid cities, the committee is almost certain to be embarrassed by more revelations.

"I don't think we did anything that was different" from other bid cities, Welch said.