By Kate McGeown BBC News, Hanoi

Nothing is being left to chance

Hanoi's street cleaners are working overtime.

Elaborate floral displays have been erected along pavements and traffic islands, and huge banners are everywhere - vastly outnumbering the city's communist slogans.

The Vietnamese capital is playing host to the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation (Apec) annual meeting, where many of the world's leaders - including US President George Bush and Chinese President Hu Jintao - are to meet.

Vietnam's government sees it as a chance to showcase the country's fast-growing economy, and recent acceptance as a member of the World Trade Organization.

"Apec is the most important political and diplomatic event in Vietnam this year," said government spokesman Le Dung, standing in the city's newly-built $270m convention centre.

"This is our chance to show other countries what we can do," Mr Le added.

Vietnam's leaders are saying it with flowers

It is not just the government that is excited by the thought of a huge international meeting in Hanoi. Many locals have been looking forward to the conference too.

"I'm really happy that lots of important leaders are coming to Hanoi - especially George Bush," said waitress Nguyen Linh Chi, showing off her Apec T-shirt with pride.

Even some Vietnam War veterans are excited about the US president's visit.

"I don't earn much money and my life is quite miserable now. Maybe Mr Bush can help," said motorcycle taxi driver Do Kieu Tuan, who 30 years ago was one of the soldiers who helped drive the Americans out of Saigon.

Security concerns

Vietnam wants to use Apec to persuade the world of its credentials as a country on the rise.

And it is taking no chances to make sure everything runs smoothly.

Security is extremely tight. There is a heavy military presence surrounding the convention centre and Ministry of Health officials have been brought in to taste all the food made on the premises.

Many of the usually traffic-clogged streets are barricaded off, and taxi drivers say they have been told not to drive in certain areas - especially where President Bush is likely to be.

Street vendors have been asked to vacate areas around the city's main hotels, and residents living near the Sheraton - where both Mr Bush and US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice are staying - have even been asked to close their doors and not venture outside when the US delegation is passing.

But while there is undoubtedly a need for careful security measures, critics accuse the government - however modern it likes to think itself - of using these concerns to apply old-fashioned communist strictures.

Earlier this week, the pressure group Human Rights Watch reported that street children were being rounded up and placed in detention centres for the duration of the conference.

What is Apec? I don't know anything about it Nguyen Thi Tu

Just walking around the centre of Hanoi, it is immediately apparent that the children who usually try to sell pirated DVDs and copies of bestselling books to tourists are now nowhere to be seen.

Political dissidents opposed to the country's one-party rule have also complained of more harassment than usual in the run-up to the conference.

"At the moment this is the most difficult time of my life," said one man, who preferred not to give his name. "The police are making a lot of troubled for me."

Despite the huge build-up to the conference - the banners, the important guests, the city's make-over and the signs of a crackdown on dissent - some Vietnamese are nonplussed by the whole event.

"I don't care about Apec. It's not important to me," said 21-year-old Le Huong Giang, sitting with her friends near the central Hoan Kiem lake.

Some have even managed to bypass it completely, and remain mystified about what all the fuss us about.

"I heard that some famous leaders are coming into Hanoi but it doesn't really affect me," said 77-year-old Nguyen Thi Tu.