Tuvalu became an independent nation in 1978, but still sports the Union Jack and plays "God Save the Queen" at official functions. Last July, its National Olympic Committee was recognized by the IOC. There's been medal-less participation in the Commonwealth Games since 2002, but sports on the islands go back much further. The football team made an inauspicious debut at the 1979 South Pacific Games, losing 18-0 to eventual champion Tahiti in the first round.

Indeed, if you're a diehard football fan, the name of Tuvalu may still be fresh in your mind. It became the first ever non-FIFA nation to participate in a World Cup qualifier last August. That was a 16-0 blowout loss to Fiji; to the team's credit, they battled to an honorable 1-1 tie with old foes Tahiti four days later. (The side does still give up goals to keepers, though.)

And Tuvalu is worth rooting for from a climatological standpoint -- it might not even exist several Olympiads from now. The average elevation is just six feet, and "king tides" have partially submerged the atolls in recent years, and if global warming continues at its current pace, rising water levels may wipe the nation off the map altogether.

Marshall Islands (MHL)

Tuvalu may have nine islands, but the Marshall Islands has over 1,000. It's an exciting place, where forward-thinking entrepreneurs are attempting to harness the power of sweet-smelling coconut oil for fuel.

The ancient chain is a former protectorate of Germany and the United States (which, regrettably, used them for nuclear tests). It's been trying to get into the Games for a while now -- the 60,000-strong nation assembled a team for Athens 2004, but the IOC pointed to a requirement that competing nations sponsor at least five sports as reason for exclusion. At the IOC Session held before the 2006 Turin Winter Games, the Marshall Islands showed nine and was officially granted access to the Olympic Movement as its 203rd member. The prize was US $150,000 annually to help fund its sports programs.

One track athlete who'll be making the country's first-ever Olympic trip is sprinter Roman Cress, a Minneapolis, Minnesota native who was born in the Marshalls. He ran one of the fastest 55 meters in U.S. Division III college history. Hayley Nemra, still a teenager, won double-bronze at the recent Oceania Championships. Anju Jason will compete in taekwondo's 176-lb. weight class, having recently qualified.

Montenegro (MNE)

One of the biggest head-scratchers of recent Olympics and world basketball tournaments was why the Olympic abbreviation of Serbia and Montenegro was "SCG." The latter was given two of the three letters, Crna Gora, after its native name.

But since June 2006, Montenegro has been an independent, hyphen- and ampersand-free nation (thanks to a successful referendum that won with 55.5 percent of the vote), and will triumphantly march by its lonesome in Beijing next month. Montenegro became the 204th Olympic nation last July at the IOC's Guatemala City Session.

It's a small country with big potential, but it's difficult to hold out much hope for medal success in Beijing, as Serbia will inherit most of the defunct pair's sports machinery. Together, SCG won two silver medals at the Athens 2004 Games: Serbia's Jasna Šekarić won the pistol event in shooting, and 12 of the 14 members of the runner-up men's water polo team were from Serbia. No athlete of Montenegrin extraction has ever won an individual medal.

If you are in need of something to celebrate, next Sunday (July 13) is Montenegro's national holiday -- on that date, the nation was recognized as independent (1878), an anti-Axis uprising began (1941), and the new flag was unveiled (2004). All in all, it's a country that's flourished and stayed beautiful despite a fractious history of forced marriages with neighbors. According to a top tourist website, "Montenegro is a place that cannot leave you indifferent."

(Photo © Action Images/Icon SMI)