Shanghai Daily news

If you can't travel to the World Expo in person, you can experience the 2010 extrava-ganza 3D via your computer. And you can interact, even create your own urban utopia.

Sample the Shanghai Expo on the Internet, then pay a visit.

"The virtual Expo will raise people's curiosity," encouraging many more to come, says Zhu Yonglei, deputy director of Shanghai World Expo Coordination.

The Expo Shanghai Online, first in Expo history, will be a virtual counterpart to the real thing - with added dimensions and interactivity.

The virtual experience will add zest and possibilities to the "real" Expo, promoting the six-month event to the world and reaching a wider audience than traditional television, broadcast and print media.

Organizers expect 15 million to 30 million visitors per day to Expo Shanghai Online, says Zhu. He hopes online exposure will prompt three million more people to visit the Expo, themed "Better City, Better Life."

The Internet enables live broadcasts and solves problems of time differences and broadcasting rights.

The new Website will be separate from the official Website that focuses on releasing information. It will use advanced technologies to provide three-dimensional images of the pavilions.

Viewers can "walk" into every corner of the Expo site from a first-person point of view and watch performances anytime anywhere.

Three types of pavilion tours will be available, offering different pavilion experiences.

? Basic Browse A 3D view of any pavilion will provide a basic tour of the exhibition as it appears, including all exhibits, pictures and videos from the real site.

? Advanced Visitors choosing this option will be able to interact in pavilions. For example, they can play games about exhibits, chat with the pavilion chief and with other online visitors.

? Creative Visitors will be able to plan a future city, in keeping with the Expo's theme of livable cities and innovation.

"The virtual pavilion coincides with the physical one, and we have created a virtual Expo community where we encourage people to build their own pavilions," says Zhu.

The first browse-type of pavilion will be built by the organizers and rented to the participants. The second advanced-type could be developed by participants. The third is a new cyber creation.

Expo Shanghai Online will not require a super-performance computer as organizers want it to be accessible to as many people as possible. A professional edition will also be published for online game fans.

The online Expo provides tours of the entire 5.3-square-kilometer site, an interaction platform, and offers education.

Everyone can participate: officials at all levels in China and worldwide, corporations and institutions, and individuals.

Among the China participants, Hong Kong and Macau have expressed their intention of hosting a virtual pavilion.

Expo Online will be accessible even after the "real" Expo closes and many of the structures are dismantled.