SHANGHAI: Almost 23,000 advertisement hoardings here have been removed or renovated as part of a beautification campaign ahead of the 2010 World Expo, officials said on Tuesday.

"Till November, we have dismantled 1453 unauthorized outdoor billboards, which is half of our target, and renovated another 21,629 hoardings," Lu Jianping, deputy director with the Shanghai Expo Preparation Office, said.

The municipality plans to bring down and renovate some 47,000 poorly erected hoardings before the expo kicks off, he said.