Candidates are expected to be selected from not only mainland China but Hong Kong and Macau, a senior space official told Xinhua news agency.

Hu Shixiang, deputy chief commander of China's Manned Space Program, said even though China's pool of available astronauts were all highly trained men, it was possible to have less trained women on space missions.

Physical requirements for astronauts have been lowered due to the increased maturity of China's rocket and spaceship technology following successful flights involving five spaceships since 1999, Hu said.

"Healthy common people can become astronauts for space missions after specialized training thanks to China's improved space training skills and, women, of course, will be included," Hu said.

"Our selection of woman astronauts will not merely be a symbolic, image project."

China became only the third country in the world to send a man into space last October, joining Russia and the United States in the elite club.

Its Shenzhou V spacecraft carrying former airforce pilot Yang Liwei orbited Earth 14 times and returned safely.

Since then, the All-China Women's Federation, the largest quasi-governmental women's group, has lobbied for women astronauts.

"This suggestion has been accepted by the central authorities," Gu Xiulian, president of the Federation told the Beijing Youth Daily recently.

China plans to send two astronauts into space in 2005, but it is unlikely the duo will include a woman as candidates come from China's current pool of 14 all-male astronauts.

Hu did not give a timeline on when a woman will go into space, but said the first group of female astronauts will only need three to four years of relevant training.

Selection for female astronauts will not be confined only to the ranks of woman pilots, Hu said.

China's group of 14 male astronauts were selected from the People's Liberation Army's air force.

Valentina Tereshkova of the Soviet Union became the first woman astronaut in the world when she was rocketed into space on June 16, 1963 aboard Vostok 6.

Sally K. Ride was the first American woman to fly aboard space shuttle Challenger in 1983.

All rights reserved. � 2004 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

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