Shanghai plans to extend the world's only commercially operating high-speed magnetic levitation (Maglev) line as part of preparations for hosting the 2010 World Expo.

That will add eight kilometres to the current 30-kilometre Maglev link between Pudong International Airport and the city's eastern edge, chief Expo planner Wu Zhiqiang was quoted as saying in Tuesday's Shanghai Daily.

The terminus will be in the heart of the Expo site along the shore of the Huangpu river just south of the city centre, he said.

The US$1.2 billion (HK$9.36 billion) Maglev uses a powerful magnetic field to suspend trains slightly above the rails. Built with German technology, trains reach a speed of 430km per hour during the eight-minute trip.