CARACAS, Venezuela —  Give up your gas-guzzler and get a free car. That's President Hugo Chavez's offer to Venezuelans.

Chavez says he plans to start a program next year that will give away cars running on less-polluting natural gas to people who turn in old cars that consume "too much gasoline."

The socialist leader says he'll even throw in a year of free fuel _ though that's a relatively minor bonus in oil-rich Venezuela, where gasoline goes for 12 cents a gallon.

Saturday's offer didn't say what sort of cars will be offered or how many will be given out.

Venezuela has signed accords with companies from more than a half-dozen countries to exploit its mostly untapped natural gas reserves _ the largest in South America.

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