Regulators in the Chinese capital will use the 2008 Beijing Olympics as an opportunity to move citizens away from cash purchases to bank cards. They are hoping that bank cards will account for at least 38 per cent of consumer retail sales in the city by 2010 as opposed to just 10 percent last year.

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To achieve the goal, commercial administrative departments at the municipal and district-level will work closely with professional bank card companies, pledged Jiao Gang, chief of the modern logistics and development section of the municipal bureau of commerce.

"Bank cards for all internationally accepted currencies will be accepted without barriers at all commercial establishments in Beijing by 2008," said the official.

The city will build or renovate about 30 commercial streets or markets in the coming years, and will also train frontline sales staff, especially those who work at shops on major business streets, in the Olympic Games Village, or the sports venues and areas in the vicinity. They will be taught language, gestures and skills so that they can conduct a conversation in English, according to Zhang Qiang, head of the administrative section for distribution and order.