scene of the press conference for a global vote on the 10 finalists for the volunteer logo designs for World Expo 2010

The Shanghai Expo Organizer launches a global vote on the 10 finalists for the volunteer logo designs for World Expo 2010.

The Shanghai World Expo organizer today launched a global vote on the 10 finalists for the volunteer logo designs for World Expo 2010.

The volunteer logo of the Expo will be printed on the clothes of volunteers, flags and the 1,500 volunteer service stations across the city. The logo will help Expo participants and visitors easily find volunteers for help, said Xu Weiguo, deputy Party chief of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination.

The logo may also be printed on T-shirts and sold to the public, Xu told a press conference at the bureau today.

People can vote and comment on the finalists at http://www.expo2010china.com/rdzt/zyzpx/zyzhd.htm). China Mobile users can send “V” to 10658222 to vote and comment.

People can vote until December 31.

The winning logo will not be decided by the number of public votes, said Xu. The organizer will make the final decision on the basis of both votes and comments, Xu added.

The organizer will announce the winner on March 5, the country’s day to commemorate Lei Feng, a soldier of the People’s Liberation Army who was famous for his readiness to help others.

The organizer will select 10 people who provided the most valuable comments at the end of the consultation. Each will be given a mobile phone and two Expo 2010 tickets. The Expo tickets are worth 160 yuan (US$23.36) each.

Xu Weiguo, deputy Party chief of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination

Chen Zhenmin, deputy director of the Shanghai Office for Promoting Ethic Progress

The organizer will also launch a lucky draw among all voters. Two tickets will be given to 2,000 lucky voters.

The organizer launched a global volunteer logo design competition on December 5, 2007. A total of 15,717 applications were received by the deadline of April 30. About 10 percent of the applications were from abroad and about 25 percent of the applications were from Shanghai, said Xu.

The organizer has also launched a competition for the volunteer slogan design for the Expo. The organizer will declare the final winner earlier next year without public consultation.

Recruitment for volunteers working at the Expo site will begin about June, 2009, said Xu.

The organizer plans to recruit about 1 million volunteers to serve outside the Expo site. Another 200,000 volunteers will work at service centers across the city. The number of volunteers working at the Expo site has yet to be decided.