Organizers of the 2010 World Expo yesterday delivered an update on the preparations of Expo Shanghai Online at a seminar of senior officials with the Bureau of International Expositions (BIE) and participant representatives in Paris.

The program, a first in Expo history, is well on track towards the goal of going live within the year at www.expo.cn.

Vicente Gonzalez Loscertales, secretary-general of BIE, hailed the program as a milestone with strategic significance for both the BIE and organizers of Expo 2010. He called on participants to work hard for their virtual online pavilions with the same efforts and enthusiasm in building concrete pavilions.

Zhu Yonglei, deputy director general of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, elaborated on the master plan and some technical issues regarding the project.

Organizers hope to make 2010 World Expo an everlasting event through the online channel, an extension of the real Expo.