High-tech NZ on show at Japan expo

By ELLEN READ

Visitors to New Zealand's expo pavilion in Japan next year will be able to download information and images instantly to their mobile phones.

By scanning a free barcode into cellphones, visitors will get access to a New Zealand portal and will also be able to view live cameras at various locations.

"This sort of thing in Japan is pretty much everyday but, for New Zealand, it's a new thing," said the New Zealand Ambassador to Japan, Phillip Gibson.

The key was to make the content appeal to the Japanese audience by using animated stories, he said.

The scheme will help expo organisers track how many visitors access different types of information.

The project is under the management of entrepreneur Jonathan Hendriksen, who made millions listing his internet advertising company, ValueClick, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2000.

The Government has allocated $3.5 million for the Aichi expo and, last week, Trade Negotiations Minister Jim Sutton said the country would be making the most of it.

Six projects have been initiated by New Zealand Trade and Enterprise under the leadership of Elizabeth Gollan, a former trade commissioner in Tokyo.

The six are:

* Promoting New Zealand as a smart, high-tech nation, as well as clean and green.

* Boosting exporter involvement in Japan.

* A feasibility study on a biotechnology presence in Kansai.

* A sister cities proposal.

* Collaborative greenhouse gas research.

* A pilot project to develop sustainable expertise in manufacturing.


Expo 2005

* Expo 2005 is being built 20km east of Nagoya's central railway station.

* Japan hopes to "bring a smile to the face of the Earth" with its eco-friendly theme.

* About 7000 events will be held during 185 days next year.

* Expo is projected to have combined costs and revenue of Y330 billion ($4.6 billion).

* Work on New Zealand's pavilion in a global precinct is well under way.

* Expo will run from March 25 to September 25.

Expo 2005