Young athletes from around the world are competing in the Olympic spirit this weekend, as the inaugural Youth Olympic Games get underway in Singapore.

The longtime brainchild of International Olympic Committee President Jacques Rogge, the games are aimed at fostering enthusiasm for sport and healthy living.

But, as you might expect, the level of competition will be high when the athletes compete in a lineup of 26 sports familiar to fans of the Summer Games.

There are some significant differences, however.

Events are broken into age categories, for instance, with the events themselves varying according to the ages of the athletes.

And in an even more unusual turn, several sports will feature mixed-gender teams. A medley relay in athletics, a road/mountain bike/BMX cycling mixed event, tennis, modern pentathlon, triathlon and swimming relays will all be contested by teams of boys and girls.

The games are also being used as a proving ground for new sports formats like 3-on-3 basketball. Played on a half-court, organizers hope the fast-paced, quick-scoring game might one day make it into the Summer Olympics.

What really sets the Youth Olympics apart from the myriad other high-level sporting events for young athletes is its complement of cultural and educational activities. Games attendees will have the chance to attend workshops covering a broad range of topics from the benefit of a healthy lifestyle to the value of friendship, solidarity and fair play.

Rogge even hopes the novel Olympic experience will encourage young participants to reject drugs, gambling, racism and corruption.

"It's a preparation for their later Olympic life," Rogge told The Associated Press. "In a very modern and human way we are going to tell them things that are important that they have to acquire. I think that is the added value of the Youth Olympic Games."

An estimated 3,600 athletes, aged 14-18, have travelled from more than 200 countries to compete in the Singapore games. Canada has sent a team of 61 competitors.

It's not just athletes who stand to benefit, though. There will be a corps of 29 "Young Reporters" on hand to cover the event from a youth perspective.

It's all part of Rogge's vision to turn the Olympic experience into a unique kind of classroom.

"I believe I can say we are experts in staging major sports events," Rogge told AP. "But we are entering now a new field, the education field. We might make some errors in the beginning, but we will learn from them."

Organizers have gone to great lengths gearing the Olympic message for a young audience.

Sporting superstars including Jamaican sprinter Usain Bolt and American swimmer Michael Phelps have been featured in pre-games publicity that spans such youth-friendly media as YouTube, Facebook and Twitter.

This inaugural edition of Youth Olympic Games will draw to a close on August 26th. By that time, organizers expect upwards of 370,000 spectators will have passed through the event gates.

Sports fans around the world can watch coverage of the two-week competition on the IOC's official rights-holding broadcasters.

In Canada, fans can catch the action on TSN, with highlights airing at 11:30 pm ET each night, starting Sunday.

The first winter edition of the Youth Olympic Games will be held in 2012 at Innsbruck, Austria.