A conference on Expo Shanghai Online, a brand-new program in the 150-year-plus history of the event, was held late last week as about 100 representatives from domestic participants discussed technologies involved in the program.

Zhu Yonglei, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, said Expo Shanghai Online was an extension of bricks and mortar Expos and would be retained as an intangible cultural heritage after the 2010 event.

Expo Shanghai Online would make the real Expo ever-lasting, Zhu added, saying organizers would conduct close cooperation with provinces and municipalities.

He hoped participants would be innovative in constructing unique "online pavilions."

Yao Rui, Expo liaison vice director, said he believed the program would further promote exchanges and understanding between provinces and municipalities around China.

At the conference, representatives from the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination briefed attendees on the latest progress in the program. Officials from Tencent Inc and Crystal CG, which take charge of the operation and digital resources of the program, talked about the pavilion development and operation.

The Expo Shanghai Online program, one of the many anticipated highlights of Shanghai Expo, will operate alongside traditional pavilions. It will allow people around the world with access to the Internet to savor the 2010 extravaganza via advanced technology.