The three countries are in Lausanne as observers, consulting on anti-drug measures set in November. The World Anti-Doping Agency is to hold its first meeting at IOC headquarters Thursday.

"We're on a very short run to the Sydney Olympics," U.S. drug chief Barry McCaffrey said. "I would hope that at each step we will have, in a transparent manner, concrete results."

IOC president Juan Antonio Samaranch and Dick Pound, the IOC vice president who leads WADA, met with McCaffrey, Australian justice minister Amanda Vanstone and Canadian sports minister Dennis Coderre.

"We truly believe that if WADA doesn't work, it might be the end of the Olympic movement," Coderre said.

The agency is made up of IOC representatives, sports federations, athletes and governments. It was established in November and temporarily based in Lausanne.

WADA is to establish a list of banned substances, coordinate unannounced out-of-competition drug testing, develop standards for collecting and analyzing samples, set unified drug sanctions and promote research.

"This agency must commit itself to being outside of Lausanne, to being under new leadership after going through an interim process," McCaffrey said.

A number of cities have expressed interest in being the permanent home of the agency. The IOC plans to have the prospective cities bid.

McCaffrey and his Australian and Canadian counterparts supported the role of the IOC and Pound role in setting up the agency.

"There's a strong commitment to making WADA work, to getting results, and that means of course to start doing something," Vanstone said.

Samaranch declined to comment on whether WADA should handle the drug testing at this year's Sydney Games.

McCaffrey had long been a critic of the IOC's role in the drug agency. But he gave the agency his support last month after Samaranch accepted proposals by a group of 26 nations led by the United States and Australia.

The IOC has contributed $25 million to start the agency but expects governments and others to pay their share.