Millenium fair fails to inspire crowds

A world fair in Germany marking the new millennium has fired hundreds of workers, after it failed to match its target for visitors.

In its first four days, the Expo 2000 fair in Hanover attracted three-hundred-and-sixty-thousand people.

It had expected a-million.

The BBC Berlin correspondent says there are fears it could become an expensive and humiliating flop.

Trade union leaders have called for the entry price to be lowered.

Critics say the idea of a world fair is now outdated, because the internet enables people to explore new visions without leaving home. The Millennium Dome in London has also attracted many fewer visitors than organisers had expected.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service