Move over, Mario. Step aside, Sonic. Put down your firearms World of Warcraft warriors. Expo Online has arrived as the latest form of online infotainment.
With its cartoon-like avatars, cyber-gaming infrastructure and pop-quiz logic, Expo Online (www.expo.cn), the virtual component of the Shanghai World Expo, looks set to have the world at its portal by borrowing imaginatively from traditions old and new.
On one hand, a cutesy Haibao, the official mascot of the Shanghai Expo, will talk visitors through the 200-plus pavilions and other attractions on the 5.28-sq-km expo site; on the other, avatars will be able to create new 3D worlds in collusion with other players as they are introduced to the ideas and technologies being proposed to build a 'Better City, Better Life'.
The under-construction site, which was launched in Chinese on Nov 12, is designed to be freely accessible to anybody who cannot make the May 1 to Oct 31 cultural gala. An English version will be uploaded on Jan 1 to allow time for glitches to be resolved and new sections will be added in the coming months.
Its launch marks a new milestone in the 158-year history of the World Expo: the event's first interactive online correlative. The website refreshes itself automatically and provides games and quizzes along the way as sweeteners to keep the absorption of academic input fun.
Co-designed by multi-media service provider Crystal CG, which churned out the gigantic scroll painting at the Opening Ceremony of last year's Beijing Olympics, the website will complete all of its promised features, including the full-blown function of its "City of the Future" section, and an online tour of each pavilion, by the time the expo starts.
As in MMORPGs, participants get to assume the roles of fictional characters and interact with other avatars as they, for example, search the China Pavilion for ship models printed with Haibao logos, or tackle questions such as, which pavilion is called Crown of the East? Users from various locations can even build a virtual metropolis from their collective imagination.
Expo Online is one of two major innovations being trumpeted at next year's fair to extend its shelf life beyond October, when most of the pavilions will be disassembled and part of the space turned into a recreational zone for residents. The other standout is the Urban Best Practices Area, where key world cities are invited for the first time to show solutions to urban problems.
Current features
Type www.expo.cn in your computer's address bar and a bird's-eye view of the expo garden that straddles the Huangpu River will pop up within seconds.
Like the other 43 pavilions currently available for online viewing, one click on the Italian Pavilion brings to life an artistic rendering of the structure in 3D complete with Haibao relating its major features in a chirpy child's voice.
"Walking through the pavilion, visitors will feel like they are roaming through an urban space that combines Shanghai's traditional shikumen buildings with old Italian squares," he says as the viewer flicks between close-ups and aerial shots, the latter affording 360-degree revolving views. Another click can change day into night.
The website also gives users a platform to deliver their comments on the World's Fair and communicate with each other as they watch live broadcasts of events from the expo.
Asked if users could post negative comments, Expo Website Management Office CEO Wang Liping said Internet users are welcome to express their dislikes, but they have to abide by Chinese laws and regulations.
Furthermore, Expo organizers have turned down requests by some participants to install cameras in their pavilions for the purpose of live broadcasts to avoid the risk of public embarrassment.
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