Global economic instability has not directly impacted the 2010 Shanghai World Expo, a Shanghai official said on Thursday.

Yang Xiong, Shanghai's vice mayor in charge of prep work for the expo, spoke at a press conference in Beijing and said everything was going smoothly.

So far, 179 countries and regions, as well as 44 international organizations, had confirmed participation in the Shanghai World Expo. Those numbers surpass the previous record held by Hanover, Germany, in 2000.

"In the face of an international financial crisis, such a grand event as the World Expo is good for Shanghai and the Yangtze River Delta region," Yang said.

The Shanghai World Expo would take place from May 1 to October 31, 2010. It is expected to draw 70 million visitors, an average of 400,000 a day.

(Xinhua News Agency October 17, 2008)