Vicente Loscertales, the secretary-general of the Bureau of International Exhibitions, receives a copy of the Shanghai Daily from Wang Yanlin, the host of an online chat about the World Expo that Loscertales took part in yesterday.

Chen Yiqin/ Shanghai Daily news 

The World Expo 2010 Shanghai should involve more ordinary people's participation, the head of the Expo's governing body said yesterday in an online chat with Internet users.

"Expos are for citizens," said Vicente Loscertales, the secretary-general of the Bureau of International Exhibitions. "The cities have to be the places in which people can develop themselves, can be happy and interact with other people, can fulfill their lives and develop all the potentials of human beings."

He said that Expos should be people-oriented. To host a successful event was not only the responsibility of authorities, but also that of ordinary people.

"The involvement of ordinary people is essential. Foreign participants, who are eager to present the best of their images in Shanghai, may find themselves unfamiliar with either language, culture or habits here. So it is important for people here to make them feel comfortable and welcomed."

Loscertales has high expectations of the Shanghai World Expo. He said Shanghai was one of the most prominent cities in the world, with a rich and long history.

In order to bring to the world the image of an ideal urban life, the Expo 2010 will exhibit best practices in urban life.

Loscertales praised the Expo's attempt to present to the world the image of an ideal city.

"I know people here are working very hard for the Expo. Some of them even work 15 hours a day. But I hope now they can work 24 hours a day," Loscertales joked.

During the one-hour online chat, Loscertales answered nearly 30 questions out of the 129 that people had raised since Tuesday. Questions ranged from the function of the BIE, the connotation of the Expo's theme to the secret of Loscertales' successful career.

Loscertales regarded the online chat as a communication channel between citizens and officials, which also matched his wish to have citizen's participation in World Expo 2010. The one-hour activity was live broadcast online.