BERLIN - RUSSIAN, Chinese, and Mexican firms are most likely to offer bribes when doing business abroad, the anti-graft watchdog Transparency International said in a report out on Tuesday.

The 2008 Bribe Payers Index also suggested that firms from China (6.5), Mexico (6.6), and India (6.8) were next on the list of countries most likely to offer graft.

Berlin-based Transparency International said Belgium and Canada (8.8) shared first place for firms least likely to offer bribes abroad.

The Netherlands and Switzerland shared third place, each with a score of 8.7.

They were followed by Germany, Britain, and Japan, all three with 8.6, Australia (8.5), and France and Singapore, both with 8.1.

In addition, companies involved in public works and construction, along with those dealing in real estate, oil and gas, heavy manufacturing and mining were seen as most likely to offer bribes to public officials.

The cleanest sectors, in terms of bribery, were identified as information technology, fisheries, along with banking and finance.

But banking and finance firms were seen as more likely than many to seek to exert undue influence on government policies.

Transparency Chair Huguette Labelle said the index provided evidence 'that a number of companies from major exporting countries still use bribery to win business abroad, despite awareness of its damaging impact on corporate reputations and ordinary communities.'

It is vital that governments work harder to enforce existing laws and that companies adopt effective anti-bribery programmes, Ms Labelle said in a statement.

The 2008 index surveyed 22 countries involved in 75 per cent of total exports worldwide.

Answers were gathered from 2,742 senior business executives from companies in 26 developed and developing countries, chosen for their volume of imports and direct foreign investments. -- AFP