Shanghai will unveil its World Expo 2010 mascot on Tuesday evening in a "very special way," organisers told a press conference today.

The unveiling party, called "Lucky China," will start at 8pm and be broadcast live via radio and television by media heavyweights such as CCTV, Shanghai Media Group and Dragon TV.

Organisers promised the disclosure will be very "innovative and surprising" and that the audience will be highly impressed.

The postal bureau will issue a set of commemorate stamps the following day. Mascot souvenirs and stuffed toys will also be available at several authorized outlets in Shanghai the next day.

Only a small amount of souvenirs will be released next week, said Hu Jinjun, deputy director of the Bureau of Shanghai World Expo Coordination. Mass production of souvenirs is expected to start next year.

The audience will also be able to hear some of the winning entries in the "2007 Expo song competition" that was launched in May.

Famous local singers including Xiaoke, Han Xue and Sun Nan will sing the ditties, which are also theme-song candidates for Expo 2010.

The organisers received 26,655 entries in the worldwide Expo mascot design competition that ran from January 17 to May 31. The youngest person to submit an entry was only three years old, and the oldest was 83.

During the search for an Expo mascot, the bureau dispatched eight teams that travelled to more than 50 cities in China and across the world. It also did a door-to-door promotion to over 80,000 people, asking them to submit ideas for the Expo mascot.

Many entries were based on a tiger as 2010 is the Year of the Tiger according to the lunar calendar, Liu Jun, director of the Mascot Selection Office of the Bureau, told a radio program on Saturday.

Other popular ideas were based on well known Shanghai symbols such as the Oriental Pearl or a magnolia, the city's flower, said Liu.

"Some designs from Japan and Korea were very imaginative," he said.

The winning design must also be flexible and able to be used in broadcasting, said organizers.