A three-day international exhibition featuring educational technology and equipment opened Wednesday in Shanghai.

The exhibition, the "China International Education Technology and Equipment Exhibition 2001", is aimed at providing a display area for business people in the educational equipment and technology sector to show and promote their products and services.

Nearly 700 exhibitors from 17 countries and regions including China, the United States, Germany, France, Japan, India and Canadaparticipated in the exhibition. Suppliers of educational equipment,publishers, printers and booksellers and others involved in the educational sector were among those present.

On display in the 24,000-square-meter exhibition area are equipment for long-distance education, teaching materials and books, information technology products, educational software, training programs, audiovisual equipment and school facilities.

During the event, the sponsor will hold a number of seminars onsuch topics as China's educational development, research into the multimedia and achievements of network technology.