<div id="subtitle">Australians under pressure to take down 'boxing kangaroo' flag from village</div><div><p>Australian Olympic officials say they will take down a giant "boxing kangaroo" flag from the Vancouver athletes' village if they receive an official request from the IOC.</p><p>The green and gold flag, which depicts a red-gloved cartoon kangaroo, has been hanging from a balcony from the Australian team's living area in the village since Sunday.</p><p>The Australian Olympic Committee said an IOC official asked that the flag be removed because it is too commercial and a registered trademark.</p><p>AOC spokesman Mike Tancred said Friday the Australians have refused to take it down, but will oblige if they get a written request from the International Olympic Committee.</p><p>"If they want us to take it down, we'll take it down," he told The Associated Press.</p><p>IOC spokesman Mark Adams said the committee is looking into the issue and hopes to have a decision "within the next few days."</p><p>Tancred said the flag has been displayed at all recent Olympics as a mascot for the Australian team and had not been a problem until now. He said the flag has been hugely popular with athletes of all nationalities in the Vancouver village.</p><p>Although the flag is a registered trademark, Tancred said it is not being used for commercial purposes in Canada.</p><p>"There must be a misunderstanding," he said. "We have no intention or capability of selling anything. We would never go to an Olympic Games and ambush somebody else's sponsors."</p><p>The boxing kangaroo flag was originally flown from the Australian yacht which won the America's Cup in 1983. It is now a registered trademark and used by the AOC to promote sport and fair play in schools in Australia.</p><p>Commercial imagery is not allowed at Olympic venues. National flags are usually the only banners permitted and are commonly displayed in the athletes' villages.</p><p>Australia is also awaiting a ruling on it appeal to allow its 2-women bobsled team to compete at the Vancouver Games.</p><p>The AOC is seeking to gain a berth for Astrid Loch-Wilkinson and Cecilia McIntosh after the International Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation (FIBT) decided not to award a place to any team from the Oceania region.</p><p>The Court of Arbitration, which has set up a special panel in Vancouver to hear any games-related disputes, agreed to hear the case. A hearing, originally scheduled for Saturday, has been postponed until Monday, Tancred said.</p><p>The women's bobsled events start Feb. 23.</p><p>Australia was the top-ranked nation in Oceania, and the AOC said the pair met the minimum qualification standards imposed by the FIBT.</p><img src="http://admatch-syndication.mochila.com/images/ad.gif?aid=68550616&bid=informcom" /></div><div id="copyright"><div>

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