Berlin launches World Cup charm offensive

BERLIN, Mar 14 (Reuters) Being the grumpiest city in Germany is not the image Berlin wants with the World Cup finals less than three months away.

To shed its reputation as an unfriendly place, the German capital, whose revamped Olympic stadium will be the World Cup's showcase venue and will host the final, launched a campaign today to prove it could smile.

The smiling faces of 11 Berliners, five women and six men aged from 12 to 64, adorn 1,800 billboards which will be spread across the city from Thursday.

''The nicest smiles for our guests,'' reads the tagline on the posters.

The campaign is one of several being launched before the June 9-July 9 finals aimed at telling the world that Germany knows how to be friendly.

Economy minister Michael Glos and soccer great Franz Beckenbauer last week unveiled a television spot and billboard showing dozens of Germans rolling out red carpets for the estimated one to 1.5 million visitors expected for the month-long extravaganza.

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