A girl fights to get through an electronic turnstile Tuesdayafter it broke down at the Expo park subway station. Photo: CFP

By Zhang Cao

The Shanghai World Expo Coordination Bureau denied yesterday that it has ever contacted Japanese singer-songwriter Mayo Okamoto, whose song is believed to have been plagiarized in the making of the Expo promotional song.

"I haven't heard that," said Xu Wei, director of the Expo bureau's press office. "The matter remains under investigation and nothing has been determined so far."

Kyodo News reported Monday that the organizers of the 2010 World Expo in Shanghai had sought permission from a Japanese record company to use Okamoto's song, and the company had approved the request.

''I am honored to have a chance to cooperate with the Shanghai Expo, to which the whole world is paying attention,'' Kyodo News quoted Okamoto as saying.

On April 17, the Expo bureau announced on its website that it had stopped airing the World Expo's promotional song, "Right here waiting for you 2010," because of a plagiarism issue.

"The song remains suspended." Xu told the Global Times yesterday.

The song, which was composed by the well-known Shanghai-based musician Miao Sen, has been taken off the air just two weeks after its release on March 30.

The chorus of Miao's song turned out to be very similar to Okamoto's 1997 hit, "Sonomama no Kimi de Ite" (Just be yourself). Suspicions have spread on the Internet that the Expo promotional song was plagiarized.

The Expo promotional song was meant to build anticipation for the six-month cultural gala preceding the event's May 1 opening. The song has been performed by a number of celebrities, including Jackie Chan and Yao Ming, and has been played widely on TV, radio, as well as on public subways.