The starting gun has fired on tens of thousands of Olympic jobs.

With fewer than 600 days to go to the opening ceremony, the unemployed are being offered hope by a London 2012 Job Board which has just opened for business.

Adecco, the official recruitment services provider to the Olympic and Paralympic Games, is inviting jobseekers to register for details on a new website.

The site will feature a promised "vast array of jobs" with opportunities ranging from catering, cleaning, security and administrative support to media, hospitality, tourism, sport, leisure and customer services.

Some professional and technical posts will also be available.

"Staging the Olympic and Paralympic Games is the most complex piece of project management that any city will ever undertake," said Lord Sebastian Coe, chairman of the London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games.

"An inseparable part of the project is getting the best and smartest people working directly for the Organising Committee, our suppliers and sponsors.

"If we don't get that right, then we won't have a successful Games.

"This site is a gateway to the jobs generated by the London 2012 Games and I encourage people to sign up today."

The first jobs will appear in March and applicants are being encouraged to pre-register now to give themselves the best chance of landing a job.

People who pre-register will be alerted as soon as relevant jobs become available.

Interview tips and career guidance are also available on the site.