China hoping to clean up image

Partly because China and Russia have improved their national sports programs since the Athens Games, the Beijing Olympics “will likely be the most competitive environment ever for an Olympic Games,” he said.

“We think it will be a terrific opportunity and challenge.”

To make China more accessible to foreigners, Beijing will offer free multi-lingual help lines and is working to correct English snafus on road signs and menus, where misspellings and direct translations often mystify diners.

Last year, Beijing hired thousands of people to force residents to form orderly lines when waiting for public transportation and to spit in bags rather than on the ground.

“The Olympic Games will provide lots of opportunity for education,” Sun said. “We’re trying to encourage the public to use elegant language, provide good service and of course to refrain from all kinds of spitting or cutting in line.”