The Minister in charge of the London Olympics hopes Brighton and Hove will play a major role in the 2012 Games.

Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell urged the city to host a national team for the duration of the tournament and invited residents to sign up as Olympic volunteers.

Mrs Jowell said: "There's something in this for everyone in the country no matter where they live. There is a whole range of ways in which people living in towns and cities outside London will be able to take part.

"Brighton and Hove has much to offer in its own right.

"It should be pushing hard to get people to visit the city before and after the Games.

"It should be inviting teams from other countries to come to the city to prepare for the Olympics and people in Brighton and Hove should be encouraged to volunteer to be part of the Games."

Last month, The Argus reported that Brighton and Hove City Council was considering inviting China's Olympic team to stay and train in the city in the months leading up to the competition.

The city has proportionally one of the largest Chinese populations in the UK outside London. Thousands have settled in Brighton and Hove and hundreds come every year to study. The city's Chinese community has backed the idea.

An alternative plan to invite South Africa's team has also been suggested. South Africa president Thabo Mbeki is a graduate of the University of Sussex.

Mrs Jowell, who was in Brighton to address the Labour Party's annual conference, said one way of boosting the UK's Olympic chances was to boost participation in school sport.

On top of the minimum two hours' sport a week, school pupils will be encouraged to take part in extra hours outside of lesson time. Leagues will be set up to encourage competition within and between schools and regional and national rankings established to alert Olympic organisers to promising young British athletes with the "X factor" to triumph at the 2012 Games.

A special scholarship programme providing the UK's very best young athletes with bursaries of up to £10,000 has been set up to help with the costs of coaching, travel, nutrition and sports psychology.

The Talented Athlete Scholarship Scheme has already helped 150 contenders, including three from Brighton and Hove.

They are 24-year-old disabled cyclist and Sussex University student David Stone, who received £10,000, 24-year-old equestrian competitor Sarah Millis, from Brighton, who won £5,000 and 18-year-old squash player and Brighton College student Christopher Simpson, who was awarded £5,000.

Mrs Jowell said: "We have lost large numbers of potential champions because families have not been able to afford the cost of developing their talent.

"We want to focus on young people who have this X factor. They might not know they have it but the Olympics can nurture this talent."