Waiting time at a pavilion? Find out online

SHANGHAI - An online system that gives queue times of the most popular Expo pavilions at Expo 2010 Shanghai will begin on Tuesday.

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By logging onto the official Expo mobile phone website, wap.expo2010.cn, China Mobile Communication Corporation (CMCC) users will be able to see the number of people waiting at the 10 most crowded pavilions at that time.

The statistics are provided by the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination and will be updated every hour. Organizers hope that if visitors have this information in advance, they will avoid visiting the pavilions during peak times and could potentially save three or four hours of time spent waiting in line.

CMCC users will also receive useful information once they enter the Expo Garden, such as the weather forecast, pavilion operation adjustments and transportation information. With the help of a mobile Expo website and the mobile phone map, Expo visitors will be able to more easily find restaurants and toilets. The service will be charged according to Internet rates.

CMCC has also provided an English-learning service, which serves as a mobile translator. Type a Chinese sentence and text message it to CMCC, and the user will receive the sentence translated in English. Different from 962288, the official Expo Service Hotline, the text message system is targeted at visitors with some English knowledge. Once the message is sent, a computer will process it. If the automatic translation service can't provide a translation, a team of experts will provide the translation. The translation service is free, but general text message fees apply.