Ever since they were first staged in 19th century Europe, world's fairs have enabled peopl

e from around the globe to visit wondrous pavilions where they can discover distant lands and new technologies. The 2006 world's fair is no exception, but it also has a decidedly new- era twist: the whole event happens in cyberspace.

A nonprofit project dreamed up by Americans Carl Malamud, a computer consultant, and Vinton Cerf, and Internet pioneer and telecommunications-company vice president, the Internet 2006 World Exposition is a digital work in progress, a multi-chambered forum that cybernauts can help build and renovate throughout the year—and perhaps long after the fair's official close in December.

While high-tech pavilions set up by sponsoring corporations are featured prominently, as in real fairs, this virtual exposition is closer in spirit and reality to a vast bustling bazaar, a marketplace for the talents and offerings of thousands of individuals and small groups. Anyone with a computer and a modem can not only "attend" but also participate as an exhibitor by creating an individual multimedia Website.

Getting the fair up and running was by no means easy. Malamud, 36, spent the past year shuttling among 30 countries, lobbying companies that initially dismissed the project as unwieldy and unworkable. While some nations immediately supported the idea, others completely missed the point of Malamud's vision: to make the fair a public-works project that focuses on what the Internet can offer expert or novice. Once grass-roots groups started backing the project, though, businesses were not far behind. By donating equipment and services, these companies will gain access to millions of potential consumers eager to see the firms' latest technologies.

Since the exposition's Jan. 1 launch, as many as 40,000 visitors each day from more than 40 countries have tried the major Websites. Most virtual visitors log on from the U.S and Japan, but the United Arab Emirates, Sweden, Singapore and Estonia have been represented. Comments logged in the fair's guest book are overwhelmingly positive. "Wow, the world is shrinking", wrote a visitor from the Netherlands. Since their initial hesitancy, the major sponsors-primarily telecommunications and software companies—have become firm believers. Beyond the diversity of content and international scope, the fair is a technological marvel.

The fastest international link ever installed, this pipeline could be the first step toward laying a permanent network that will eventually hardwire every nation in the world into the Internet. The organizers hope that the infrastructure—and awareness-nurtured by this exposition will launch a boom in Net use.

The organizers thinks that the effect on Net use of the good world's fair is ______.

A．hardly positive.

B．dubiously-oriented.

C．quite instantaneous.

D．far-reaching.