The International Olympic Committee has ordered an inquiry into allegations over corruption in the bidding process for the 2012 Olympic Games.

A BBC television crew filmed reporters posing as a London business consortium securing the support of an unnamed IOC member through corruption, the Times newspaper reported.

Undercover reporters for the Panorama program posed as consultants acting for clients with business interests in east London who were keen to see the Olympics come to the capital.

London is among five cities on the short-list for the Games, along with Paris, Moscow, Madrid and New York.

"On Wednesday 28 July, the IOC asked the Ethics Commission to launch an investigation into alleged inappropriate conduct within the Olympic Movement linked with the bid process, which it had been made aware of by the media," a statement from the IOC said.

"Given that this investigation is currently under way and that the IOC does not know the content of the BBC Panorama program and is waiting its broadcast, the IOC is not in a position to provide any further information at this stage on this matter."

The program is due to be broadcast next week and the BBC has placed a news blackout on its contents.

The 124-member IOC, which decides the destination of Olympic Games, has faced corruption problems before, notably allegations of widespread bribery when Salt Lake City was awarded the 2002 Winter event.

The London bid committee was swift to distance itself from the activities of the BBC crew, with bid leader and former Olympic champion Lord Sebastian Coe saying he had been "made aware" of the allegations.

"London 2012 has acted properly and ethically throughout the bidding process and we totally support the IOC's decision to refer these allegations to the ethics committee," he said.

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