BEIJING, August 8, 2008 (AFP) - Australian Olympic Committee president John Coates on Friday hit out at the heavy smog shrouding Beijing, saying it could permanently damage the environment.

Coates, an International Olympic Committee member, said he hoped a legacy of the Beijing Olympics would be that China takes more care in future.

When asked if organisers had done enough to clean up the pollution, he said: 'No. But I don't know what more thay can do.

'It may well be permanent damage. Significant pollution is a problem, but we're getting on with it.

'Let's hope one legacy of the Games will be the realisation of the damage that has been done to the environment and will continue to be done unless they are more careful.'

Coates' comments appear to fly in the face of the official line taken by the IOC, with the organisation's chief Jacques Rogge on Thursday hailing Beijing's 'extraordinary' effort to cut pollution.

Air quality has been one of the top concerns for the 10,500 athletes coming to Beijing for the Olympics, with Rogge fanning those worries last year when he said endurance events could be postponed if the pollution was heavy.

'The Chinese authorities have done everything that is feasible and humanly possible to address this situation. What they have done is extraordinary,' Rogge told reporters.

On the same day, the head of the World Health Organisation in China told AFP that the pollution could hinder athletes during the Olympics, and that the long-term dangers to the population of the city were serious.

'There is an air pollution problem in Beijing,' Hans Troedsson said.

'However, we are missing the point by having so much attention on the short-term exposure while the long-term exposure is really ignored -- that is where we have a problem,' the Swede said.

Despite concerns, Coates said no one on the Australian team had so far suffered any respiratory problems as a result of the smog.

Beijing has shut down many polluting industries and taken millions of cars off the road in an effort to improve air quality for the Games.