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Gordon Brown wants netball played at the 2012 London Olympics to entice more women and girls into sport.

The playground favourite would be a "wildcard" demonstration sport - and with our women's team ranked third in the world, a medal on home turf would be a real possibility.

A senior government source said: "The Olympics can be crucial to encouraging participation in sport and netball will have great value as a game to encourage girls and woman to stay on and enjoy competitive exercise."

The Premier's proposal was welcomed by the England Netball group, who stressed tournaments could also be held for men.

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One insider insisted: "Netball is a great sport where you have got to work as a team to score. And it's not just for girls. It would be wonderful to see it included as an Olympic sport."

Adding the game would also be a real crowd-pleaser as netball is massively popular in Australia and New Zealand and in Commonwealth countries such as Jamaica, as well as in the UK.

Demonstration games were first introduced into the Olympics in 1900 when ballooning and lifesaving were staged at the Paris games. Medals are awarded but do not count towards the official games haul.

Handball was played in Finland in 1952 and roller hockey at Barcelona in 1992. There have been no demo sports at the last three Olympics but China will showcase Wushu martial art in Beijing this year.

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