Hello from HK:  Director of Information Services Yvonne Choi introducing free postcards. Looking on is InvestHK Director-General of Investment Promotion Mike Rowse.

Free postage and phone calls overseas are being offered to help promote a SARS-safe Hong Kong.

From tomorrow, 300,000 free postcards with pro-Hong Kong slogans will be available from 40 post offices and all district offices for posting to relatives, friends and business contacts overseas to encourage them to visit our city.

The postage fee will be waived for the cards, and stickers bearing the slogans will also be available to stick onto parcels. The slogans will appear on postage chops, too. The postcards are available on a first-come-first-served basis.

The slogans are "Hello from Hong Kong" and "Hong Kong looking ahead".

Officiating at the launching ceremony, Chief Executive Tung Chee Hwa urged all members of the community to join the campaign.

People's support would help spread the news that Hong Kong is safe, he added.

Meanwhile, advertisements have been placed in major newspapers throughout Asia, Europe, Australia and, most recently, the US to highlight the removal of travel advisories.

To support the international outreach efforts, six telecoms companies are offering five-minute calls to 12 countries free on Sunday. The countries are the US, UK, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Malaysia, Singapore, the Netherlands, Canada and the Mainland.

The companies are PCCW, CM Tel HK, CSL, New World Mobility, Peoples and Sunday.

InvestHK Director-General of Investment Promotion Mike Rowse said the main objective is to "spread the message to everyone around the world that Hong Kong is safe and has contained SARS".

Director of Information Services Yvonne Choi said the postcards are also available in electronic format on the Information Services Department website for emailing. She said six designs are available and more will be added later.

Mr Rowse said he will also spread the message during a trip to Japan and South Korea next week. He said he hoped to clear up with Japanese authorities reported problems Hong Kong people have been having trying to enter the country.