The Olympic movement could receive the first...

The Olympic movement could receive the first major step toward government involvement in the drug crackdown as sports ministers from at least 70 nations will be asked to ratify an IOC-sponsored anti-doping charter during a UNESCO conference starting today in Moscow.

Also today, the Olympic committees from the United States and the Soviet Union are expected to approve an anti-doping exchange program in which athletes from both countries would be uniformly tested for anabolic steroids year-round and with little notice.

“We hope to actually have the major points of protocol established, including exchange of technical information and year-round, short-notice testing,” U.S. Olympic Committee President Robert Helmick said before going to Moscow.