BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN. Aug 7: More than medals are at stake in the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games beginning today, with governments promising cash and other incentives to winners even as the region recovers from an economic slowdown. reports AFP.

Host Brunei, which has not won a gold medal in the games' 40-year History, is offering a new Mitsubishi car as well as 40.000 Brunei dollars (23,6700 US) for the first athlete to earn the yellow metal.

Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah's oil-rich kingdom will pay athletes 40.000 dollars for a gold medal at the games, 20.000 dollars for a silver medal and 5.000 for a bronze.

Brunei is banking on the

combat sport silat. the Malay art of self-defence, to break their duck.

Singapore will give 10.000 Singapore dollars (5,900 US) to • a gold medal winner in an individual event, while a team gold is good for 20,000 dollars.

Malaysia, traditionally strong in athletics and eveing 35 gold medals, will reward each individual gold medalist with 5.000 ringgit (1,315 US) and 1.000 ringgit for each gold medalist in a team event.

No Southeast Asian nation was spared from the financial crisis which erupted in mid-1997 and plunged the region into a recession. The region is recovering from crisis amid severe government belt-tightening.

But sports seems to have survived the government axe.

Vietnam will give 2.000 US dollars and Thailand has allocated 50.000 baht (1.351 US) for every gold winner.

Thailand together with Indonesia. which have also reserved an unknown amount of cash for their medal winners, are expected to take the lions' share of the Brunei Games gold medals.

The Philippine Sports Commission, the state body financing athletic development, is offering 75,000 pesos (2.000 dollars) for a gold winner, 50.000 pesos to a silver medalist and 30,000 pesos to a bronze winner, said Gus Villanueva spokesman for the delegation.