Organizers of the 2010 Shanghai World Expo will launch a virtual
online version of the expo in a bid to encourage more visitors to
the event.
At a recent press conference, officials from the Bureau of
Shanghai World Expo Coordination provided a first-look at the
online project, now a major work in progress.
A demonstration of a three-dimensional graphic of the entire
convention hall will be accessible on the website, allowing
visitors to "experience" the facilities and exhibitions in a
virtual, interactive environment.
An online forum will allow visitors to communicate with each
other in real time, and multiple editions with different languages
are under development.
Expo organizers expect to showcase a working draft of the
project by the end of the year.
After its launch, the online site is expected to attract between
15-30 million daily Internet users during the six-month expo
period, according to Zhu Yonglei, deputy director of the bureau.
The expo organizer expects the Shanghai World Expo to bring a total
of 70 million visitors to the city.
"Some people worry that the online expo will impair the
attraction of the real event for visitors," Zhu said.
"We believe that the online expo can never replace the World
Expo in the real world, but on the contrary, the online version can
help to bring more visitors to the Shanghai expo. It could function
as a promotion tool for the real fair and also a guide."
The expo organizer estimates that about 3 million people will be
drawn to the Shanghai expo after browsing the website.
"We plan to develop the online expo project with the cooperation
of international participants and display their pavilions and
exhibitions on the Internet according to their own needs," Zhu
said.
Countries and foreign organizations participating at the
Shanghai expo are encouraged to contact the organizers should they
wish to have their exhibitions included in the online version.
The online expo website will be launched to the public on
January 1, 2010, but many of the exhibited items will only be
available on the Internet after the event begins five months
later.
The organizers also said they want to develop some expo-themed
online games to go with the website.
(China Daily March 21, 2007)