Shanghai will do more this year to attract global attention to the 2010 World Expo, a senior city official said yesterday.

The comment was made on the final day of a visit to the city by Vicente Loscertales, secretary general of the Paris-based Bureau of International Exposition.

"We will cherish every chance to draw international participation and support for the Expo," Zhou Hanmin, deputy director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, told reporters yesterday.

He said the fourth international Expo Forum is expected to be held in the city late this year.

International government officials, planners, legal advisers and Expo experts will be invited to attend the forum to contribute suggestion.

The city expo bureau officials are also preparing the first copy of participation guidelines - a working document for Expo participators - and are planning to complete the guidelines during the fourth quarter of this year.

Countries that plan to participate in the event will be invited to attend a conference later this year, Zhou said.

This May, officials from Shanghai will also attend the World Mayors' Forum in Geneva, to discuss the significance of the first World Expo hosted by a developing nation.

"The Expo is not just a Shanghai project or a China project but a world project," said Loscertales.

During his three-day trip to the city, Loscertales visited the Pujiang Expo Garden -- a new residential complex in Minhang District for residents relocated from Expo sites.

He also held talks with city officials about construction of infrastructure, and pavilions for the event, among other topics.

"I am satisfied with the city's preparation works," Loscertales said.

(Shanghai Daily February 16, 2006)