SHANGHAI: Organizers of the Shanghai World Expo, scheduled to kick off May 1 next year, are expecting to sell 62 million tickets for the six-month event after sales open for individual purchasers on July 1.

A worker rides under a 1,780-sq m cloth canopy installed yesterday that will house a portion of the 2010 Shanghai Expo site. [Xinhua]

Chen Xianjin, deputy director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, said yesterday that about 24 million tickets will be sold before the fair opens next May, while almost "double that number will be bought during the course of the event".

About 2 million group tickets, the sales of which opened on March 27, have already been sold, Chen said.

Till now, 239 countries and international organizations have confirmed their participation in the expo.

Four authorized agencies -- China Mobile, China Telecom, China Post and Bank of Communications -- will start selling individual tickets at some 2,800 outlets on the Chinese mainland. Tickets will also be available online.

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Before the end of the year, a standard day individual ticket will cost 140 yuan ($21) and peak day ticket will cost 180 yuan, organizers said.

"After the expo kicks off, the price of both tickets will go up by 20 yuan," Chen said.

The event also offers three-day and seven-day passes and discounted tickets for students, people aged 60 and over, people with disabilities and members of the Chinese military, which will be on sale until the beginning of next year.

Tickets to the expo garden at night will be available once the expo starts.

Children below 1.2 m in height will be admitted free of charge, organizers said.

Individuals will not be required to register their identification details while purchasing tickets, they said.

Expo organizers also urged the public to buy tickets only from authorized dealers, saying the tickets were especially designed to curb counterfeiting.

"Fake tickets can easily be detected through a magnifying glass or ultraviolet light," they said.