Olympics-Coe asks for Aussie help to inspire volunteers

MELBOURNE, Sept 10 (Reuters) - London Olympic chief Sebastian Coe has called on Australia to help motivate Britons to rise from their armchairs and be volunteers for the 2012 Games.

"If there is anything I would really like Australians to help me with -- through Facebook, Twitter and all the things that are now part of our universe -- it's just to inspire people in the UK to pick up the challenge of volunteering," Coe told the Australian Associated Press on Friday.

"The difference between a good and a great Games in Sydney, for me, was the quality of your volunteers."

"To paraphrase a famous movie, I think for most of us arriving in Australia for the Games you had us at 'hello'."

Coe said he was hoping to 'magpie' Australians' warm embrace for their home Games along with the better qualities of other Olympic hosts.

"I want to take the spirit and humanity of Barcelona, the forensic eye for detail that was Beijing... I want to take the best from the best," he said.

When asked about Britain's traditional sporting rivalry with Australia and the importance of the hosts to outdo their former colonial subjects on home soil, the double Olympic 1,500 metres champion would not stray from diplomacy.

"I am a fully paid-up member of the fan club of Australian sport, and I say that occasionally through gritted teeth," he said.

"But it's one of the great enduring and sensibly balanced rivalries in world sport... It's a healthy rivalry." (Reporting by Ian Ransom; Editing by John O'Brien; To query or comment on this story email sportsfeedback@thomsonreuters.com)