The House of Commons culture committee will hear from UK members of the International Olympic committee and the British Olympic Association on Tuesday.

Hosting last summer's Commonwealth Games helped restore our credibility but that's a far smaller event than an Olympic Games Whitehall source

The Olympic bid is also later set to be debated by MPs.

The issue has already caused controversy amid reports that Chancellor Gordon Brown is not in favour of hosting the games on the grounds of cost.

The government is being asked to contribute �6m to the �13m cost of putting on the event in the face of other demands on the public purse.

Total costs are expected to hit the �2bn mark, according to a report last year by Arup.

Doubt has also been cast on a British bid because the already groaning infrastructure in the capital.

Paris or New York

A government-commissioned study is likely to conclude that the UK's chances of securing the games are slim because of its record on the Millennium Dome and new Wembley stadium, according to reports.

Other potential bidders such as Paris or New York would be more likely to win the race, reported the Observer.

The Department of Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS), which commissioned the study, insisted that as it had yet to be finished it was impossible to say what the report's conclusions would be.

The department's director of sport Alec McGivan was asked to draw up a study of the "winnability" of an Olympic bid ahead of a crucial Cabinet meeting on 30 January .

Repair job

Ministers are then expected to decide whether to give official backing to the scheme.

The Observer quoted an unnamed Whitehall official as saying it would take time before the UK could persuade the International Olympic Committee (IOC) it could host a major event.

He said: "After the Dome, Wembley and Picketts Lock, we have to do a repair job with these IOC people in terms of our ability to deliver major projects.

"Hosting last summer's Commonwealth Games helped restore our credibility but that's a far smaller event than an Olympic Games."