China's rulers hoped hosting the Olympics would buff the country's image and herald its arrival as a major power, but a series of public relations blunders have undermined their plans.

A day ahead of Friday's opening ceremony, controversies were still swirling over Internet access for journalists, protests by pro-Tibet groups and Darfur activists, as well as criticism of China's efforts to improve air quality.

Zhu Feng, an international relations expert at Peking University, said the Chinese government had hoped the Games would put a more positive gloss on how the West, in particular, views China.

"Looking at what is going on with the Olympics, you could say we were a bit naive to think that the Games would have improved our image," he said.

"China is already accepted as a major power in some senses. But its image is more negative than positive in some areas in the West," he said.

"I don't think this Olympics will improve China's image much, if at all."

Applauded for planning

When China won the right to host the Games in Moscow in 2001, celebrations broke out across the nation and the government immediately set about transforming Beijing with a 40-billion-dollar makeover.

China, unlike Athens four years ago, produced gleaming new stadiums well ahead of time and has been applauded for brilliant organisation and planning.

Damian Ryan, of Hong Kong-based Ryan Financial Communications, a media advisor to several Beijing Olympic sponsors, said China had not been given sufficient credit for its work on the Games.

"Look at four years ago in Athens," he said. "They were still building the stadiums on the eve of the opening ceremony. Credit should be given to China for pulling all this together."

He predicted China could still win the PR battle.

"I think there is a sense now that China, like the other host nations before it, should just get the chance to show what it is capable of," he said.

Still time to show off

Other analysts agreed that if the Games passed off without major incident, the Olympics would be widely perceived as a success.

"I think so far we have had mixed messages as to whether the Chinese have been successful in projecting the kind of image they want," said Brian Bridges, a specialist in politics and sport at Lingnan University in Hong Kong.

"The opening ceremony and how the rest of the Games go will be crucial to perceptions.

"But so far various components of what the Chinese have been trying to get across have a rather botched record."

Several public relations disasters have stalked China's preparations for the Games including a crackdown on unrest in Tibet in March that triggered worldwide protests focussing on the international leg of the Olympic torch relay.

China's efforts to block off parts of the Internet used by foreign journalists in the run-up have also triggered negative publicity.

And then came China's decision to prevent US Winter Olympics gold medallist Joey Cheek, a leading advocate for an end to violence in the Sudanese province of Darfur, from travelling to Beijing for the Games.

Television footage broadcast around the world also showed athletes arriving in Beijing wearing masks to protect them against pollution, while the Olympic stadium has been shrouded in haze for much of the final week's build-up.

AFP