Smoking has been banned in all of the Chinese capital's 66,000 taxis, the Xinhua news agency said.

Drivers will be fined 100 yuan (S$20) to 200 yuan if they are caught smoking in cabs.

Passengers caught smoking will have their names 'exposed through media', Xinhua quoted the city's taxi bureau deputy head Ma Yanjie as saying.

Green-coloured 'No Smoking' signs have been posted in most taxis for the ban that took effect on Monday, Xinhua said.

Beijing has implemented a long list of measures to clean up the city and its citizens for the Olympic Games, which will start on Aug 8.

The list includes plans to limit the number of cars on the roads and to close foul-smelling factories to improve Beijing's notorious and noxious air pollution.

Etiquette campaigns are also afoot to stamp out bad manners such as cutting queues, spitting, littering and reckless driving.

In restaurants and other eating places, menus are being updated and revised as part of an effort to ban unintelligible English, known as 'Chinglish', that often confuses tourists.

However, stamping out smoking may be difficult in Beijing, where almost half the male population smoke, Xinhua said, citing a survey conducted by Horizon Research Consultancy Group.

According to Ministry of Health statistics, 350 million people smoke in China, equal to 26 per cent of the country's population and a third of the world's smoking population. And one million people die from smoking-related diseases each year in China.

ASSOCIATED PRESS