Madrid decorates Christmas with a magic Expo touch

The city of Madrid, Spain, is already glowing with Christmas lights blending a strong Expo 2010 flavor.

A huge eye-catching Christmas in Plaza de España has been spruced up with lighting logos representing Madrid's Expo 2010 contribution - Bamboo House and Air Tree - plus next year's Expo logo.[expo2010.cn]

A huge eye-catching Christmas in Plaza de España of the Spanish capital has been spruced up with lighting logos representing Madrid's Expo 2010 contribution - Bamboo House and Air Tree - plus next year's Expo logo.

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The streets of Madrid have used 7.5 million light bulbs to celebrate this year's Christmas, some 700,000 more than last year. About 99.5 percent of the lights are energy-efficient with less pollution.

Madrid Pavilion for Shanghai World Expo's Urban Best Practices Area will showcase a bamboo house and an artificial tree that can control climate conditions.

The pavilion will be a five-story residential building covered in bamboo to filter sunshine, heat and sound, similar to its progressive social housing project south of the city.