The city plans to launch an "online expo" to bring the fun and excitement of the 2010 World Expo to a global audience.

"The online expo will be an extension of the real Expo, which allows people who are unable to visit the event themselves to see what's going on by surfing the Internet at home," said Huang Jianzhi, deputy director of the Shanghai Bureau of World Expo Coordination.

Huang said it will be the first time in the Expo's 150-year history an online counterpart is available.

The Expo coordination bureau is in talks with professional institutes to design the online expo, but details are not yet forthcoming.

The idea for the virtual expo came from a group of deans in town at the weekend to voice their opinions on the Expo's planning.

The deans, from art design schools in China and overseas, were invited by the Shanghai Institute of Visual Arts.

Preliminary design work on the Expo's China Pavilion and Theme Pavilion is meanwhile shaping up.

Their locations have been selected and construction is scheduled to begin this September, officials said.

The Theme Pavilion will be divided into four parts - an open-air plaza and three halls representing people, the city and nature.

A range of events and promotional activities on the theme "peace" will also be held, according to Wang Jun, a member of the design team.

Kevin Thompson, director of the Hong Kong Academy of Performing Arts, said he believes the buildings will be magnificent but that the city should think about what will be left at the end of the Expo.

"The Expo should be such a good opportunity for Shanghai not only to build the hardware but also the software, the quality of people," he said.