Few journalists starting out in their careers can claim to have worked alongside the world's top sporting media at the biggest sporting event in history.

Yet that's the experience Charles Sturt University journalism student, Tarina White, can put on her curriculum vitae for her first job interview.

Tarina, 20, a third year Bachelor of Arts (Print Journalism) student, is one of more than 200 communication, television production and design for theatre and television students who will be working with the Sydney Olympic Broadcasting Organisation (SOBO) and the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games (SOCOG) during the Sydney 2000 Olympic Games.

A team of students, who have been specially trained by SOBO with industry specialists at CSU's Bathurst and Wagga Wagga Campuses and at major pre-Olympic competitions, will work as trainee broadcast liaison offers, videotape loggers, trainee camera assistants and audio assistants and in media liaison.

Another group will join Games Press Operations to provide services and support to 5 000 accredited international and local media (4 000 journalists and 1 000 photographers) from almost 200 countries.

These students will work in SOCOG's major press centre at Homebush and at competition venues across Sydney.

They will have jobs in news service reporting, preparing press conferences, press conference reporting, media helpdesk services and newsflash reporting.

Tarina, working at the SOCOG press centre, is excited at the prospect of being part of the action behind the scenes and watching how everything comes together at an event as huge as the Olympics.

Tim Escot, 20, a public relations student, will be as close as you can get to the Olympic action as a trainee camera assistant.

He said the biggest challenge will be making sure everything goes right - especially getting the footage for hundreds of countries relying on images of Olympic Games highlights.