The Coca-Cola Company has signed on to become the seventh global partner for the 2010 World Expo in the China's economic hub Shanghai.

    No financial details were revealed at the signing ceremony Monday.

    Doug Jackson, president of Coca-Cola China, said the company was well placed to provide beverages to an estimated 70 million visitors expected to come to Shanghai for the event.

    He predicted more than half of the visitors would buy Coca-Cola products.

    In July, the company started building its planned 80 million U.S. dollars global innovation and technological center in Shanghai. The company said it would provide support for a new beverage that would be developed and tailored to the exposition.

    China is the fourth largest market worldwide for Coca-Cola, following the United States, Mexico and Brazil. About 1 billion bottles of Coca-Cola beverages were sold in China last year, accounting for an 11 percent market share.

    Other companies committed as global partners for the expo included China Eastern Airlines, China Mobile, China Telecom, Bank of Communications, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation (Group), GM China and Siemens.

    Expo official Chen Xianjin said there would be 10 to 12 global partners for the fair themed "Better City, Better Life." The six-month expo is the first to be held in a developing country.

    Expo organizers were seeking to attract about 200 nations and international organizations to take part, ensuring the widest possible participation in the history of World Expositions.