EVER since Mr Peter Tan moved to Beijing two years ago to work for the Beijing Olympic Games, he has often been asked:

"Do you have a spare bedroom in your Beijing apartment that I can use during Games time come August?"

Indeed, his family, friends and even a former boss from his previous job know that the 44-year-old Singaporean gets to hobnob with star athletes as part of his job.

The regional director of the United Parcel Service Beijing 2008 Olympics project oversees sports marketing, and recommends teams and sports for sponsorship.

He has so far met Olympic gold medallist and hurdler Liu Xiang, China gymnast Li Ning, who won six medals in the 1984 Games, and even Formula One drivers, Italy's Jarno Trulli and Britain's Jenson Button, among others.

"My most memorable experience was meeting one of my all-time favourites - NBA player Shaquille O'Neal," he said.

"Everyone knows he is big, but in real life, he is very broad, he's a huge mass of a person. I'm not short but I literally looked up to him when I met him."

Inevitably, he also always gets asked by friends: "Can you get me this athlete's autograph?"

So far, he has collected more than 20 autographs, most of them from tennis stars or F1 drivers - the two sports he loves the most.

"I couldn't sleep the night before I was to meet Trulli and Button," he admitted.

Next on his wish list: Russian hottie and tennis star Maria Sharapova as well as American swimmer Michael Phelps.

"Sharapova is gorgeous, of course," he said. "And I like the community work that Phelps does. He was here to train a group of children, and friends at the event said he was the nicest man."

So it's a dream job for Mr Tan, who says he is 'a big sports fan'.

"There can be frustration, but meeting the athletes is one of the bonuses," he said.

He's even been mistaken as one of the stars. At the 2006 Winter Olympic Games in Turin, Italy, to observe how things were run, he was given a specially designed tracksuit to wear.

"I later realised that it was the same design that the China team was wearing. So I was stopped a few times on the streets by people who thought I was one of the Chinese Olympians, and asked for my autograph and to take photos with me."

After a while, he gave up trying to explain in broken Italian that he wasn't an athlete and just agreed to having his picture taken.

"I guess that there are quite a few Italians now with photos of me in their albums, still trying to figure out which sport I am in!"

Although he has been to numerous Olympic Games, some for work, some for play, he said he hasn't tired of the star-spotting.

"I admire the dedication and passion of athletes who have been working their whole life towards their goal," he said.

For the record, it's already full house at his apartment for the duration of the Games.

"It was 'booked out' a long time ago," he said.