In a blast from the past- when the government actually advised its citizens on everything from blowing their noses to how to ride a bus, the National Archives will put 60 public information films online dating back to 1945.

A narrator says in a 1958 reel advising pedestrians how to cross the road safely, "You must look where you're going. It's no good thinking you can have a sleep or eat your breakfast out there because you'll soon find yourself in trouble."

The United Kingdom National Archives is making the information available online at www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/films . The exhibit includes 22 films released between 1945 to 1951, a time when London hosted its first Olympics, and the Labor government was in the process of building up the welfare state.

The UK National Archives will make available the rest of the 60 films, which have items from the 1970s and 80s, in series over the next six months.

Films released so far include a one-minute 1945 piece titled "coughs and sneezes" that lectures to citizens to close their eyes and use a handkerchief when sneezing.

A 1950 film advises visitors from other Commonwealth countries how to behave on a London bus.

A spokeswoman for the Central Office of Information, a publicity arm of the government that replaced the wartime Ministry of Information in 1946 and produced the films says, "The films really do give you a flavor of the issues of the time."

Later items to be released include a 1975 film, the Green Cross Code Man, which teaches children how to cross the road and stars David Prowse, the man behind Darth Vader's mask in the original Star Wars movies.