Chinese have come out to get a first look at Shanghai's multi-million dollar World Expo after it opened its doors to the public on Saturday. Lines outside some of the more popular pavilions were extremely long, and there were occasional angry exchanges about line cutting. Most visitors, however, say they were impressed with the pavilions they were able to see.

World Expo organizers say that by mid-day Sunday nearly 400,000 people have already come out to visit the site and its more than 200 pavilions.

Expo organizers say some of the more popular pavilions such as the Swiss and French pavilion had more than 7000 people, on average, waiting in line to get a glimpse inside.

Buses were packed in many cases and sometimes a little pushing and shoving was required to get off at stops. But on a whole - aside from areas outside of the popular pavilions - there was plenty of room to wonder around or find a place to sit and rest in the shade.

The massive five kilometer site straddles Shanghai's Huangpu River and expo buses and ferries help visitors get from one side of the site to the other.

One 25-year-old software developer whose family name is Wang says he was impressed with what he saw in the Future Pavilion - one of the five theme pavilions at the World Expo.

Wang says that after seeing the exhibit he felt full of hope for the future. He says that there were many things in the exhibit that you do not usually see. Wang says the ideas put forth in the exhibit were really great, such as low-carbon economy and the many ideas about construction.

Mr. Zhang, a 21-year-old university student says he waited three hours to get into Britain's Seed Cathedral pavilion - a massive porcupine-like structure that encourages visitors to reflect on the connection the role of nature and city life.

Zhang says by noon on Saturday, he had only visited the Swiss and British pavilion.

Zhang says the British pavilion was awe-inspiring and that each of the thousands of crystalline rods that make up the structure have a seed at their end inside the pavilion. He says the light that comes streaming into the pavilion is impressive.

Mr. Lu and Mrs. Fan, a young couple who brought their nine-year old daughter to the expo disagree slightly about how long they had to wait. What is clear is that is was not short.

Fan says the wait was three hours and that the lines were incredibly long. Lu says three and half.

The couple, who live in Hangzhou, a city about two hours southwest of Shanghai, say they will have more opportunities in the future to come back and see more of the expo.

Lu says that overall he thinks the expo is well organized. He says there may have been too many people on the first day, and because of that lines were a bit long.

Events on Saturday continued well into the evening, with people still lining up at midnight to visit pavilions.

Expo organizers say more than 200,000 people visited the site on Saturday. Before the event wraps up in late October organizers expect that more than 70 million will come to visit and that the large majority of visitors will be Chinese.

Many visitors came prepared carrying foldable stools and umbrellas to beat the heat from the sun.

Mr. Wei, a 35-year-old cosmetics salesman from Anhui says he and his mother and brother started out early in the morning and made it into several sites. He says he was enjoying the science and technology aspects of some of China's pavilions and the South Korea pavilion. But after more than half a day of walking only had one thought.

Wei says he is tired, adding that there is really no way to see everything in one day. He too, plans to return again.

China says it has spent more than $4 billion on the World Expo, double what it spent on the 2008 Beijing Olympics. It is the most expensive Expo ever and local media reports put its overall cost, including upgrades to the Shanghai's infrastructure at more than $40 billion.

The World Bank announced its passage on Sunday of what it calls a "historic" package of reforms at the end of key meetings of global finance leaders. The package includes a massive increase in capital for the institution, its first in 20 years, and an increase in voting rights of China and other developing and emerging nations. Greece's debt crisis was also discussed at the World Bank and at the International Monetary Fund, or IMF.

World Bank President Robert Zoellick said the package that was approved during the past few days dynamically changes the group. He said it was a first time in the history of the now-186 nation lending institution that voting power was adjusted, while asking for a capital increase.

"It was an ambitious combination - some said too ambitious. But we worked hard with our member states to demonstrate our value added to forge a deal that meets mutual interests," he said. "This is modern multilateralism at work."

The World Bank agreed to raise its lending resources by more than $86 billion at a time when the world is still recovering from an economic downturn. Zoellick said that more than half of the increase will come from developing countries.

"The additional capital means that we will no longer face the possibility that we would have to cut back our lending later this year," said Zoellick. "We came into this crisis well capitalized. We have provided a record $105 billion in financial support since the crisis began to bite in 2008."

Speaking after a meeting of the bank's policy-setting Development Committee, Zoellick said the World Bank also took a significant step by increasing the voting rights of developing countries to more than 47 percent.

"The endorsement of the shift in voting power is crucial for the Bank's legitimacy. It recognizes that we need to consign outdated concepts like 'Third World' to the history books," he said. "Today, the world is moving towards a fast new evolving, multipolar world economy."

The move puts China's influence at the bank above several Western powers, making it third - behind the United States and Japan.

The dominance of the United States and the major European nations in the bank's decisions has long been a source of criticism from countries such as Brazil, Russia, India and China.

Political scientist Martin Edwards at Seton Hall University in New Jersey says the shift in voting rights reflects the changing distribution of economic power in the world.

"Obviously, China's rise has been something that people are talking about," he said. "China gave $50 billion to the IMF this year. It is tough to think about China as a developing country. They are increasingly becoming a part of global governance."

But Edwards says it is unclear what China might seek to achieve with its influence.

"Their priorities for World Bank operations are going to be reflective more of how their society is made up. So that is to say that the Chinese would favor loans and loan programs to countries that were a little more statist," he said.

The World Bank's effort to boost the influence of developing countries in its operations was a key goal set forth by leaders of the Group of 20 nations last September. Analysts say the World Bank move could set a precedent for changes at the International Monetary Fund. The IMF was unable to reach an agreement on voting rights changes during its meetings on Saturday.

Meanwhile, the Greek debt crisis remained a key topic on the sidelines of talks at the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund here in Washington.

Speaking at a news conference at IMF headquarters on Sunday, Greek Finance Minister George Papaconstantinou expressed confidence that Athens will receive international financial aid in time to avoid defaulting on its debt next month.

"I think early May is a good ball-park figure. I do not want to give a particular date," he said. "We all know that these negotiations take weeks. We are working very fast."

Papaconstantinou said the loan package framework has strong conditions to help reassure European and IMF lenders, as well as fiscal measures to reassure Greek citizens that efforts are being made to end the country's financial crisis.

The Greek finance minister downplayed concerns that some European Union members were not fully supportive of the loan package and quickly responded to a question about what Greece might do if the loan is not approved.

"There is no if. The support mechanism will be ready during the month of May. And there is absolutely no one in Europe or outside it that has a different opinion to this," said Papaconstantinou.

Greece has accumulated more than $400 billion in public debt. The country is seeking emergency loans of about $40 billion from European countries and more than $13 billion from the IMF.

IMF Managing Director Dominique Strauss-Kahn says everyone trying to help Greece understands the "need for speed."

Officials in Europe and at the International Monetary Fund have made it clear to Greece that their support is contingent on Athens' efforts to put its fiscal house in order.

Greece has agreed to begin an austerity program that cuts salaries and freezes pensions for civil servants, and raises taxes. That program has triggered massive street protests and labor strikes in Greece.