The Denmark Pavilion at the Shanghai 2010 World Expo will showcase a fairy tale world with the Little Mermaid, the country's symbol, set to make her first visit to Shanghai in 2010.

But Danes won't miss their mermaid too much - her stay in Shanghai will be filmed and screened back in Denmark.

The Little Mermaid statue is one of Denmark's major tourist attractions and sits on a rock in Copenhagen harbor. The winning team behind the design of the pavilion hopes to bring it to Shanghai.

Carsten Boyer Thogersen, Denmark's Shanghai consul general, yesterday said he is confident that the statue will make the journey to Shanghai.

"We are applying for approval from the Danish government, and it is almost certain that the copper statue will sit on a piece of marble to welcome visitors to the pavilion during the Shanghai Expo," Thogersen said.

The idea of the statue came to Carl Jacobsen, son of the founder of Carlsberg, after he became fascinated by a ballet about the fairy tale. Sculptor Edward Eriksen then created the statue, which was unveiled in 1913.

The Denmark Pavilion consists of an outdoor and an indoor area which are united in one circle. The pavilion aims to give visitors the chance to savor the best aspects of Danish urban life.

The pavilion, called "Welfairytales" - a blend of the words "welfare" and "fairy tales" - will also feature a salt water pool filled with water from the Danish harbor. The mermaid is expected to make its Chinese debut at the pool.

Thogersen said the harbor suffered industrial pollution 20 years ago, but had been purified and now local people even swim at the sea, which is a "good showcase of Denmark's style of sustainability."

Meanwhile, Chinese artists have been invited to submit outstanding sculptures for public display during the six-month Expo event.

One masterpiece will be chosen each month to be go on display at the Expo site.