Car owners count the ways to their personalized plates

Many who queue outside the offices of local transport authorities say they are looking for lucky and favorite numbers made available after a new policy was introduced in October 2008.

"With the new regulations, I honestly don't think we will face the kind of embarrassment we saw in 2002," said Zhang Jingchun, spokesman for the Beijing traffic management bureau.

The changes leave little room for distasteful plates such as USA-911 and are aimed at crimping the black market in personalized car plates, Zhang insisted.