Tourists will face on-the-spot fines

Anyone dropping so much as a cigarette butt or chewing gum will be liable for a fine of at least 20 euros.

Extra police will keep an eye on foreign visitors to the Greek capital and impose on-the-spot penalties for anyone dropping rubbish.

"Fines will apply to everybody, after all we are trying to keep Athens clean," said the city's mayor.

Penalties will also apply for abusive behaviour such as swearing at someone.

Top priority

Most recent headlines have focused on the threat of terrorist attack to the Games, or whether Olympic stadiums will be ready in time.

But the mayor, Dora Bakoyannis, insists changing the city's dirty image is also a top priority.

Some 35m euros will be spent on the clean-up campaign, including a new fleet of dustbin lorries, thousands more litter bins and 60 special machines to remove chewing gum from pavements and roads.

There will also be 500 more municipal police officers to enforce all the new regulations, who will have the power of arrest.

But it will not be an easy task to get Athenians to change their habits when it comes to disposing of litter, says the BBC's Richard Galpin.

The Greeks are the heaviest smokers in the European Union, and tossing a cigarette butt onto the pavement is as natural as waking up in the morning, he says.