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Some of London's famously talkative taxi drivers have been recruited by a tourism marketing firm to put their chats with passengers to good use, according to reports.

The initiative is part of a new trend known as word-of-mouth advertising, whereby companies rely on people talking to one another to boost the status and exposure of their brand.

One recruit of the new scheme is Adrian Torlini, from Aylesbury, Buckinghamshire, who has been driving a black cab for nine years.

Mr Torlini was treated to a trip to Bangkok, courtesy of the Tourism Authority of Thailand, and now happily regales his passengers with tales of the exotic eastern land, the Times reports.

'It's not all ping-pong shows you know,' he told the newspaper while driving up the Old Kent Road.

'There's the floating market, the tiger temple – the temples are out of this world. The food's fantastic.'

Mr Torlini has also persuaded many people to visit Melbourne after he and his wife took a ten-day trip to the city, provided by the local tourism board.

Asher Moses, managing director of Taxi Promotions UK, the company behind the scheme, said that the holidays market was a natural place to start but there are plans to spread the initiative to the airline industry.

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