Shanghai will construct 200 digital halls and renovate another 300 conventional centers to popularizing science and technology in the coming years.

The endeavor is necessary for the display of multi-media technological applications during the Shanghai World Expo, said information from the second China International Multi-media Technologies and Applications Exhibition in Shanghai.

Ma Xingfa, chief of the social development section with the Shanghai Municipal Commission of Science and Technology, said science and technology would be the crux of the Shanghai World Expo.

Shanghai has been blessed with a number of scientific achievements since 2004, when the city launched a special action plan for the world expo in cooperation with the Chinese Ministry of Science and Technology, said Ma.

The World Expo, which is held every five years, will be held in Shanghai from May 1 through to October 31 in 2010 with the theme of "Better City, Better Life."

Source: Xinhua