SYDNEY, Aug 22, 2007 (AFP) - Some say it simply doesn't exist, but an Australian university is taking on the challenge with a new course which aims to help people speak with a 'cultivated Australian' accent.

The Australian accent, distinctively different to that of any other English-speaking country, is best known as the broad, nasal dialect spoken by the likes of the late TV star, Crocodile Hunter Steve Irwin.