PREVIEW-Athletics-IAAF look into sprinter Chambers' book

BERLIN, March 19 (Reuters) - The International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF) will decide this week whether a revealing book by British sprinter Dwain Chambers, banned in the past for doping, has brought the sport into disrepute.

The IAAF council is meeting on March 21-22 in Berlin, site of this year's world athletics championships in August.

Chambers, the first high-profile offender in the BALCO doping lab scandal when he tested positive in 2003 for the previously undetectable steroid THG, recently published his autobiography, detailing his extensive use of banned substances.

The 30-year-old has successfully returned to competition after a two-year ban, winning the European indoor sprint title earlier this month.

"We have asked our legal experts to look at this book and whether it brings the sport into disrepute," IAAF spokesman Nick Davies said.

"If indeed it does then this matter will be dealt with at the council meeting," added Davies.

In his autobiography "Race Against Me", Chambers speaks openly about doping and the effect on his health as well as his performance.

"Barely four months into my 'programme' to become the fastest man in the world and I was on drugs nearly every day. At this point I was practically a walking junkie. I was on the lot and the sophisticated modern-day tests detected nothing," Chambers says.

"On Christmas Day, as I sat in the bathroom with 'The Clear' (THG), I realised I had been taking drugs -- more than 300 different concoctions -- for 12 months. A year on the programme cost $30,000."

While Chambers has been persona non grata for major European athletics meetings since his return, Berlin's Golden League organisers said he was welcome to compete in their prestigious June event.

"The truth is he has been punished," Davies said.

"So he is eligible to compete. But the IAAF has been clear about this. We wanted four-year bans," he said of their position for the revised doping code that came into force this year and foresees two-year bans for first-time offenders.

DIAMOND LEAGUE

The IAAF council will also fine-tune plans for the Diamond League, a series of athletics meetings to be launched in 2010 in a bid to offer more head-to-head competition and expand the sport globally.

Twelve meetings in Europe, the United States and China are under contract for the series, which will replace the six-city Europe-only Golden League. Series winners will be awarded $80,000 four-carat diamonds.

As part of its overhaul of competitions to make athletics more attractive, the IAAF will also consider new structures for its top events, including the world championships and world indoor championships.

"The idea is to make them more attractive while at the same time not selling out," Davies said, adding the plan was to introduce compact three-hour finals sessions on fewer days rather than having finals spread out across the whole duration of the events.

(Writing by Karolos Grohmann; Editing by Alison Wildey)