BEIJING, March 27 (Xinhua) -- Beijing officially launched a "smile" campaign in every way of life to welcome the 2008 Olympic Games, which is exactly 500 days away.

Beijing citizens, especially those from malls, restaurants, hospitals, and police stations, are urged to smile when they face hundreds of thousands of tourists from all over the world during the Olympics.

Li Binghua, vice Executive President of the Beijing Olympic Organizing Committee (BOCOG), said that it is very important for the service industry employees to give the tourists and athletes a good first impression.

"The national image might be damaged if there were still some bad service habits," he said.

Beijing's service industry has always been criticized for their employees' "smileless style".