The initiative was launched last week as part of a new worldwide sponsorship agreement between the IOC and the 11-year-old internet-based room rental service.

The value of the nine-year deal has been widely reported as $500 million (£386 million/€452 million), although Airbnb chiief executive and co-founder Brian Chesky claims this figure is "not correct".

Asked by insidethegames what percentage of income generated by Airbnb Olympian Experiences would go to a) participating athletes and b) the IOC, the IOC said this breakdown was "confidential".

It added, however, that "the vast majority is for the participating athlete", with Airbnb taking a commission.

The Airbnb Experiences platform already offers tens of thousands of special experiences for its customers visiting cities all over the world.

Offers currently range from yoga with goats in Pattersonville in the United States, to a mole cooking class with an indigenous cook in Mexico City.

Olympian Experiences is expected to be launched on the Airbnb platform early next year.

According to the IOC, offers will include "everything from the chance to train with an Olympian to exploring a city with an elite athlete".

In the coming months, Airbnb and the IOC are to provide support and training to athletes interested in becoming a host on the platform.

The IOC says that athletes involved "would be Olympians, Paralympians or elite athletes recognised through the Athlete 365 platform".

This platform now carries a basic explanation of the concept and an opportunity to open a personal Athlete 365 account under the headline, "Turn your Olympic experience into a business on Airbnb".

Targeted sports experiences aimed at enthusiasts appear to be a growing segment of the international leisure and tourism business at present.

Another service provider - letsdothis.com - which aims to connect consumers with a wide range of endurance events in sports such as cycling, running and triathlon, identifies megastars Serena Williams, Usain Bolt and Paula Radcliffe on its website as Let's Do This investors.

A quote from Radcliffe states: "The work Let's Do This is doing to encourage more people to take part, from deeply personal support, to giving you a full refund for any reason if you no longer feel you can do it, is truly awesome and so when the opportunity arose to invest I was delighted to be involved."

Bolt is quoted as saying that Let’s Do This is "a company that is totally committed to changing the world and inspiring more people to get out there".

These developments are hitting the market at a time when the earning power of elite athletes away from the richest sports has been in the news via discussions over appropriate prize money and the Rule 40 guidelines covering sponsorship at Olympic Games-time.