Several companies including Wal-Mart, the NYSE Euronext and Intel on Thursday announced sponsorship of the US Pavilion, after Locke encouraged all American companies to donate money to the country's Expo showcase during a speech to the American Chamber of Commerce-China in Beijing on Wednesday.

"Our commitment to leading on the development and employment of clean energy technologies will be on display in Shanghai next year as a city prepares to receive some 70 million visitors to the 2010 World Expo," said Locke at the ground-breaking ceremony.

The expo organizer has reserved a 6,000-square-meter land for the US Pavilion, whose construction would cost 61 million US dollars.

However, half of the funding goal has been fulfilled, upon the signing of the participation contract on July 11, according to the organizer.

The Shanghai World Expo will be a six-month-long event that starts on May 1 and ends Oct. 31 next year.

(Xinhua News Agency July 17, 2009)