SHANGHAI has received 13 countries and an international organization's confirmation to attend the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, Yang Xiong, a vice mayor of Shanghai announced at a press conference this morning.

France, Ukraine, Bahrain, Mali, Cambodia, Canada, Mauritania, Algeria, the Congo, Hungary, Switzerland, New Zealand and Cuba as well as the Secretariat of Convention on Biological Diversity have decided to join the event since the organizer of the Expo sent invitations signed by Premier Wen Jiabao on March 22.

The central government will build a China Pavilion as well as a Theme Pavilion at the Expo, Yang said. The site will also feature an area for experimental concepts about city lifestyle, he said.

"We will invite the best cities around the world to participate in the project to showcase and talk about the development of future cities and how it will affect life in the city," Yang added.

The Expo will be held in an area of 5.28 square kilometers across the Huangpu River, which runs across Shanghai's downtown area. The relocation of residents and companies in the future Expo site is almost complete as the government has offered satisfying compensations, Yang said.

In the revised plan, the China Pavilion and Theme Pavilion will be moved away from the river bank while a recreational center and a conference center will be built there. The two centers will host shows and activities along the river, Yang said. Some old architecture in the area will be preserved for the Expo and for future use, he added.

The Expo, which will run for 184 days, has a busy schedule of shows and forums, he said. Visitors will have different ways to take part in the event, including viewing it from the Internet, Yang said.

As the first city in a developing country to host the event, Shanghai will share experiences and lessons with others on urban construction for a "better city, better life," which is also the theme of the Expo, Yang said.

The city has also launched a sales promotion project for the Expo, which provides different channels for different enterprises to participate, such as sponsorship and franchising. The Shanghai World Expo plans to attract 10 to 15 cooperators as well as 12 to 20 sponsors. All cooperators "must be the bellwether of each industry," Yang said.

Besides contributions from corporations, the Expo will mainly collect its revenue from ticket sales, Yang said. The financial aim of the event is to break even, Yang said.

With predicted ticket sales of 6 billion yuan (US$750 million), the organizer hopes sponsorship income will be able to recover the rest of the 10.6 billion yuan that will be spent on the event, Yang said.

Sponsors will acquire some preferential policies from the government, including tax benefits and other exclusive rights and privileges, Yang said.

The organizer will also enhance its protection of the logo and mascots as well as some other intellectual property rights, Yang said.