The Macao Special Administrative Region (SAR) government Thursday announced that the SAR will take part in the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, as it signed a participation agreement with the Shanghai municipality authorities.

According to the agreement, Macao will establish a pavilion in the Expo venue, displaying the city's varied cultural features.

The SAR government sent a delegation, led by Secretary for Economy and Finance of the SAR Tam Pak Yuen, to Shanghai, a municipality in eastern China, and the agreement was signed there on Thursday by representatives from the two sides.

Macao valued its participation in the event and a designated office had been formed to handle the preparatory work, a press release from the SAR government quoted Tam as saying at the signing ceremony.

The Expo will be held in Shanghai from May to October 2010. By the end of April 2008, 205 countries and international organizations had pledged their participation in the event, which the organizers expected to draw more than 70 million visitors.

The Expo site will be divided into National Pavilions, Corporate Pavilions and Urban Best Practices Area. There will also be an online exposition to show the event on the Internet.

Macao is the only place in China that has two concrete constructions at the Shanghai World Expo Site, including the Macao Pavilion that occupies an area of 600 square meters, and a 1:1 ratio replica of the "Tek Seng On Pawnshop", which has been listed in the Macao Heritage, and is at present the best-preserved pawnshop building in Macao, according to the press release.

To better the preparation work for the event, the SAR government launched the Macao Pavilion Concept Design Competition in May this year. The winning entries will be used as blueprints for the design of the Macao Pavilion. The winner will be announced in August.

In addition, with the aim to boost the understanding and support of the event, the Shanghai 2010 World Exposition National Organizing Committee will also organize the "2010 Shanghai World Expo Promotion Week" here in October this year, which will comprise a series of expositions, forums and promotional activities, according to the SAR government.

(Xinhua News Agency June 20, 2008)