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Only nine of the 51 largest metropolitan areas in the nation have significant enough clusters of both biotechnology research and product development to be considered biotech "centers," and the Washington-Baltimore region is one of them, a new study finds. But the study by the Brookings Institution Center on Urban and Metropolitan Policy found that the region is the "least entrepreneurial" of the nine, meaning relatively few of its many patented ideas are being developed locally into products or services.

Washington-Baltimore will find out by September whether the region is one of two finalists in the hard-fought race to be United States Candidate City for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. Members of the U.S. Olympic Committee's bid evaluation task force announced yesterday that they will recommend that the field of cities be reduced from four to two after visits this summer to the cities competing for the Games. In addition to the joint bid by Baltimore and Washington, New York, San Francisco and Houston are vying for the Games.

Unable to directly lobby Olympic committee members who will choose a U.S. city to vie for the 2012 Summer Games, Washington-Baltimore leaders said yesterday that they plan to put up some signs that the voters should see. Local organizers unveiled an advertising campaign during the Greater Washington Board of Trade's Potomac Conference in front of 150 area business and civic leaders. The theme, "Heart of Our Nation ... Host to the World," targets Olympic and national sports officials, as well as local residents and leaders.

Local organizers working to bring the Summer Olympic Games to Washington-Baltimore in 2012 will submit the final piece of their bid proposal - a project that has consumed a team of three dozen people for three months. The United States Olympic Committee asked the four finalists for the 2012 Games to submit a bid addendum by Monday. In addition to Washington-Baltimore, Houston, New York and San Francisco are vying for the Games. "It's gotten very competitive," said Dan Knise, president and chief executive of the Chesapeake Region 2012 Coalition.

WASHINGTON - Washington-Baltimore won high marks yesterday from a team sent to evaluate its bid for the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. "How did Washington-Baltimore do? You raised the bar," said Charles H. Moore, leader of the U.S. Olympic Committee's evaluation team, at a press conference. "That's important, because this is our first city. Every other city will be judged against you." The USOC team made the Washington-Baltimore region the first stop on its summer-long eight-city tour that ends in Los Angeles on Aug. 23-26.

The effort to bring the 2012 Summer Olympics to the Baltimore-Washington area will go forward without the Baltimore in its title, officials said yesterday. The bid will be known as "Washington D.C. 2012," and the group organizing the bid, previously called the Washington-Baltimore Regional 2012 Coalition, will become the Chesapeake Region 2012 Coalition. And that's OK with Baltimore Mayor Martin O'Malley. "I would have preferred the dual-city designation, but we agree that Washington, D.C.'s status as the nation's capital city is an important differentiator for our regional bid, if we are to win the ultimate international competition," he said.

A $175 million financial guarantee critical to Washington-Baltimore's ability to compete for the 2012 Olympic Games is expected to easily pass the scrutiny of lawmakers in Maryland, Virginia and the District of Columbia in coming weeks. Since the Atlanta Games in 1996, the International Olympic Committee has required government backing from any city bidding on the Games. The support must come in the form of a written governmental guarantee from each jurisdiction vying for the Games and would be used to pay off debts if revenue fell short of projections or expenses exceeded those anticipated.

COLLEGE PARK - With the mayors of Baltimore and Washington on hand to sign the submission letter, the Washington-Baltimore Regional 2012 Coalition culminated three years of work by sending off its bid to play host to the 2012 Summer Olympic Games. But before a United Parcel Service worker could cart away the required 10 copies for delivery to the U.S. Olympic Committee in Colorado Springs, Colo., a top America Online Inc. executive announced that the Internet juggernaut would be a major partner in the coalition's effort.

On Friday, the Washington-Baltimore Regional 2012 Coalition will submit its bid for the Olympic Games, the culmination of more than three years of work and the beginning of the long wait until a U.S. candidate city is named late in 2002. "It will be a nerve-racking time in some ways," said Dan Knise, president and chief executive officer of the coalition. "This has been a great focus for us. In some ways, the more important work may be coming up, but it's harder to measure." The region's hopes for snaring the Games are encompassed in its "bid file" - about 600 pages of documents in three loose-leaf binders - the product of about 200 people and more than 15,000 hours.

If the Washington-Baltimore region plays host to the 2012 Summer Olympics, it can expect an economic windfall of more than $5 billion, according to a study released yesterday by the local group trying to bring the Olympics here. The study said $5.32 billion in direct and indirect spending would be pumped into the economy during the Olympic year. The U.S. metropolitan areas competing for the Games in addition to Washington-Baltimore are San Francisco, Cincinnati, Dallas, Houston, New York, Los Angeles and Tampa-Orlando, Fla. The United States Olympic Committee is expected to name a U.S. candidate city in October 2002.