The building of new billboard adverts in Shanghai was halted last Thursday while ongoing construction was also stopped, the government has said.

The move was intended to prepare for the upcoming Beijing Olympics in August, the municipal government has said in a notice on its Website.

But the notice didn't mention when approval will resume.

Shanghai will hold 12 Olympic soccer games during the 16-day event starting from August 8-24.

The North Bund area will have only nine billboards and all excessive billboards will be torn down before the end of July, China Business News cited the Shanghai City Appearance and Environmental Sanitation Administration Bureau as saying today.

Meanwhile, a guideline to supervise the city's outdoor advertising facilities will be completed by June, the government's notice said.

Shanghai started to dismantle downtown billboards more than 60 meters above the ground in October and banned advertisements from being posted on pillars along elevated roads across the city, according to previous reports.

No advertising facilities are allowed on top of residential buildings more than 60 meters high between the Inner Ring Elevated Road and the Middle Ring Elevated Road, the bureau ruled.

(Shanghai Daily April 28, 2008)