Jones wants lie detector test on Conte

The lawyer for triple Olympic champion Marion Jones has challenged the indicted hea9d of the BALCO laboratory to take a lie detector test after he alleged he had seen her taking performance-enhancing drugs.

The challenge comes a day after Jones sued Victor Conte $25 million for defamation, saying he had falsely accused her of doping.

"Today we challenge Mr Conte to take and make public a lie detector examination from a qualified, well-respected polygrapher," Jones's attorney Rich Nichols said in a statement.

"Marion Jones took, passed and made public a lie detector test, which confirmed what she has said publicly, what her then coach has reportedly said and what her doctor reported -- she has never, ever used performance enhancing drugs."

"To date, Mr Conte has not taken a lie detector test."

Conte, who faces charges of steroid distribution and money laundering, said this month in a U.S. television interview and article that he had supplied steroids to top athletes including Jones.

Her lawyer wants Conte to answer whether he ever saw her take performance-enhancing drugs and if he had leaked any grand jury testimony.

"It is easy to go on national television and, as the lawsuit states, make 'false, 'malicious' and 'misleading' statements designed to do harm to Ms. Jones' character and reputation," Nichols said. "However, it is quite another matter to take a polygraph examination that will test whether one is a truthful person or an untruthful person who engages in deception."

Conte, a former bass guitarist and then self-educated nutritionist who lives south of San Francisco, did not immediately respond to the latest challenge.

On Wednesday he stood by his statement that Jones had used performance enhancing drugs.

"This is nothing more than a PR stunt by a desperate woman, who has regularly used drugs throughout her career," he said in an e-mail. I am telling the truth and Marion is lying."