Netizens could obtain "online Expo passports" after the official launching of a 3-D Expo park in the virtual world on May 1, Shanghai World Expo organizers said Thursday.

Zhu Yonglei, vice director of the Bureau of the Shanghai World Expo Coordination, said at a press conference that online visitors to the park could have access to "visit" more than 150 pavilions and obtain "online passports and visa stamps".

World Expo admission ticket is referred to as a "passport". Pages in the "passport" could be filled with "visa stamps" at various National Pavilions.

Designs of the online passports and visa stamps are the same as those used upon entering pavilions at the Expo park, according to Zhu.

More than 25 million people have visited the 3-D Expo park online since its trial operation on Nov. 12 last year.

The website (www.expo.cn) consists of several parts, including "site tour", "interactive community" and "future city". Clicking the "site tour",more than 150 3-D pavilions will be shown on the map.

Netizens can click any pavilions they like, then mascot "Haibao" will bring them to the chosen pavilion and give a brief introduction on the pavilion's major characters. Netizens can see the pavilion from different angles and in both day scene and night scene.

Around 500 staff are working around the clock to make the last-minute preparation for the website' s official opening, Zhu said.

(Xinhua News Agency April 30, 2010)