ROUNDUP : VILLAGE OPENS WITH FEW TENANTS.

Byline: Associated Press 

The Olympic Village opened its doors to the world Saturday - and hardly anyone came.

The village, on the campus of Georgia Tech, was officially launched with a ribbon-cutting ceremony. But most of the world's budget-conscious athletic federations chose to wait a few more days before they send their athletes to Atlanta.

``Where is everybody?'' a worker at the village department store asked, her voice oozing with disappointment.

For the most part, the athletes were back in their home countries. The daily rate to stay in the Village is $100 per person until July 15, when the athletes can start moving in for free.

``That's important to many countries,'' said Carol Milliron, the village's press officer for the Atlanta Committee for the Olympic Games.

The village will be home to most of the 15,000 Olympic officials and athletes when the Games begin July 19. Saturday, though, instead of a village brimming with activity, there were hundreds of ACOG workers milling around, looking rather bored. They stood at their posts, hands behind their backs, bodies cocked in a position indicating they were anxious to help someone, anyone.

``Come in and check out the place,'' pleaded the worker manning the music-listening room when a reporter stuck his head in the door.

Milliron said 300 to 400 people were expected to check in Saturday, but most were officials instead of athletes. Countries are not required to reveal when they will arrive, and ACOG won't release exact information because of security concerns.

The water polo team and the synchronized swimmers were the only American athletes checking into the village on Saturday. They were joined later by the South African field hockey team, which wandered around with a run of the place.

There was plenty of security on hand - Army rangers, U.S. marshals, state police, private security guards - even if there were only a few athletes to guard. Every turn, it seemed, was greeted with a fence and a sign directing the person to take another path.

Unlike the rest of Atlanta, which resembles one big construction site, the village appeared to be largely up and running though there were a few workers hammering nails, drilling walls and planting flowers.

There are bowling alleys, pool rooms, video games and even an Internet ``Surf Shack'' - just the kind of activities to keep the MTV-generation athletes occupied.

Testing, testing: Everybody on the 1996 American team going to Atlanta - Michael Johnson, Carl Lewis, every last archer, rower, swimmer and cyclist - will have to pass a drug test before taking their seats on the Olympic bus.