More than 40,000 individual tickets for the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai have been sold as of 5:30 p.m. Wednesday, event organizers said.

The financial and business center started to sell the tickets to individuals Wednesday.

Tickets are sold by China Mobile, China Telecom, Bank of Communications and China Post in 2,796 outlets. People can also buy tickets online or by telephone.

There are no long queues for the tickets as the six-month-long event is 10 months away, said Qian Chenhui, a manager at the Bank of Communications' Shanghai branch.

Buyers don't have to bring their ID cards as there is no limit as how many can one person buy at one time.

Blue tickets for the fair's opening and closing and special dates -- May 1 to 3, October 1 to 7 (National Day holiday) and 25 to 31 -- cost 200 yuan (29.4 U.S. dollars).

Yellow tickets for regular fair days cost 160 yuan (23.5 U.S. dollars).

The sale of group tickets started on March 27. So far, about three million group tickets have been sold.

The event, which lasts from May 1 to Oct. 31 next year, is expected to attract 70 million visitors, the organizer said.

(Xinhua News Agency July 1, 2009)