Venezuelan president celebrates 1st anniversary of satellite launch　　

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has celebrated the first anniversary of the launch in China of the Venesat-1 satellite.

It's Venezuela's first satellite and also the first time China has supplied satellite services to Latin America. During the celebration, Chavez expressed his thanks to the Chinese government. He confirmed the satellite's operating properly, denying rumors it had crashed into the sea or gone out of orbit.

The president said since its launch, 1,500 satellite receivers have been placed, mainly in schools. In the next five years, 16,000 more will be installed all over the country.

The Venesat-1 was made in China with an investment of 420 million US dollars. That includes training, technology transfer and the construction of electricity substations.

Venezuela is the fourth country in Latin America to own a satellite, joining Mexico, Argentina and Brazil.