Foreign publications may be available for Expo

SHANGHAI: Organizers of the Shanghai World Expo are willing to appeal for a temporary lifting of bans on foreign publications for the convenience of overseas participants and visitors to the 2010 mega event, a senior official said yesterday.

Zhu Yonglei, deputy chief of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination, told a press conference yesterday that "we will send proposals at a proper time to meet the demands of Expo participants and visitors, especially from other countries".

The potential suspension of the ban follows the short-term relaxation of curbs on foreign newspapers and magazines around the time of the Olympics in 2008, when about 100 overseas publications hit news kiosks located in areas catering to athletes and international media covering the Games in Beijing.