Australia's World Expo mascot: a kookaburra

Australia seems to be taking the early bird proverb pretty seriously these days. It became the first foreign pavilion to finish its outer structure last week, and then revealed its own official mascot for the World Expo - a kookaburra! And now it's looking for the Chinese to give the Ozzie representative a name.

From Shanghai Daily:

"Clever, confident, and resourceful with a cheeky sense of humor, the kookaburra reflects well the personality of the Australian people," said Peter Tesch, commissioner-general for the Australia Pavilion.

"We wanted to showcase a uniquely Australian animal that was less well-known to Chinese people, thereby demonstrating the depth and diversity of Australia - its people, its achievements and its culture."

The naming competition will run for six weeks (entries can be made via www.australianpavilion.com) and the winner will receive AUS$2000 and a free trip to the continent/country.

Before the Australian announcement, we didn't even know pavilions were supposed to come up with their own mascots and now we're curious about what other countries will choose to showcase. Maybe Mexico will just go with the well received Haibao Mexicano. Canada, we guess, can hang its flag on Avril Lavigne. And the US?

From the looks of it, they'll likely have to find something understated and inexpensive... and possibly invisible.