Scotland currently competes at the Olympics as part of Team GB

The Scottish National Party's Linda Fabiani MSP made the call by urging politicians from all parties to get behind the suggestion.

But a Scottish Executive spokesman said no plans existed to look at the idea and scottishathletics said it was "simply not feasible".

Hampden Park in Glasgow will be one of the venues for football in 2012.

Currently, athletes from the UK home nations compete under the banner of Great Britain at the Olympics.

Ms Fabiani has lodged a parliamentary motion calling for the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland to be upgraded to a full national Olympic committee and urged ministers to back the move.

The Central Scotland MSP said: "Let's see Scotland's politicians get behind Scotland's athletes and let's make sure we have a Scotland team at the London Olympics.

We do see advantages in being part of a British team Spokesman for scottishathletics

"Scotland can compete internationally in sport, as our Commonwealth Games teams have shown over the years."

She added: "Scotland is recognised as a sporting nation by many international sporting organisations and there is no reason why the Olympic movement should be any different.

"The Olympic medals picked up by Scotland's sporting heroes over the years indicate a sporting strength that can be built on in Scotland."

Ms Fabiani - who is writing to Scottish Disability Sport, the Commonwealth Games Council for Scotland and London 2012 chairman Lord Coe - argued that Hong Kong, Guam and the British Virgin Islands are represented indepenently.

She went on: "National flags were first carried into an Olympic stadium at the 1908 London Olympics, and it would be good if the Scottish Saltire could finally join those flags at the London Olympics of 2012."

'Political football'

But an executive spokesman said that it was up to the International Olympic Committee to decide which Olympic committees it recognised.

A spokesman for scottishathletics said: "For Scottish athletes, the Commonwealth Games is pretty much their Olympic Games.

"We do have an opportunity to compete as our own nation in the Commonwealth Games and we do see advantages in being part of a British team as well."

The SNP are a total disgrace if they think they can get away with robbing young Scots of their Olympic dreams Scottish Labour Party spokesman

Highlands and Islands Tory MSP Jamie McGrigor accused nationalists of playing political football.

He said: "They care more about their own narrow nationalism than the country's sporting status."

A Scottish Labour Party spokesman said the SNP's thinking on the issue was "dangerous, ill thought out and jeopardised Scotland's future success".

He added: "The SNP are a total disgrace if they think they can get away with robbing young Scots of their Olympic dreams.

"They are so obsessed with divorcing Scotland from the UK they are willing to jeopardise Scottish Olympic success for their own narrow political ends."

"When the SNP say they want a Scottish Olympic team to be like those of Hong Kong, Guam and the British Virgin Islands, did they not realise that only one of these countries won a medal at the most recent Olympics."