Shanghai has launched a revamped Website that provides a wealth of new information on the 2010 World Expo.

Starting yesterday, visitors to www.expo2010china.com gained access to an upgraded information platform that tracks the progress of the planning for the event while highlighting important pieces of World Expo history.

The site's main improvements are a collection of downloads, links and other sources of information, including project status, construction costs, the countries that have committed to attend so far and the latest expo news from the city and the Bureau of International Exhibitions, the expo's oversight agency.

The Website has three versions: simplified Chinese, traditional Chinese and English.

Shanghai Daily provides content and design work for the English version of the site.

"The new version of the Website takes full account of the needs of Web users. It is a source of authoritative, accurate and timely information relating to the expo," the Bureau of the Shanghai World Expo Coordination said in a statement yesterday.

Responding to Western audience research findings, the English version highlights foreign involvement in the preparations for the event.

The current focus is on attracting participants from overseas. Website users are able to view the progress of the recruitment process through an interactive map.

So far, 74 countries and international organizations have committed to participating in World Expo 2010 Shanghai, which aims to attract more than 200 nations and at least 70 million visitors.

Zambia, Malaysia, Luxembourg, Namibia and Laos, along with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change were the latest nations and groups to confirm they will be taking part in the event.

In London yesterday, Shanghai Vice Mayor Yang Xiong, a member of the expo's organizing committee, met with Vincente Loscertales, the BIE's secretary-general, to discuss the progress of expo planning.

During their three-hour session, they talked about a plan for an "Urban Experimental Zone" that will feature cities that have managed to harmonize their historical sites with modern life, urban areas that have received United Nations awards for livability and cities that have had outstanding success in solving energy and security problems.

The theme of the 2010 event is "Better city, better life."

(Shanghai Daily September 12, 2006)