China is primed for its third manned mission into space which will include its first space walk.

The rocket called Shenzhou VII is due to lift off with three astronauts on board some time between 9:07 pm (1307 GMT) and 10:27 pm (1427 GMT).

China named three men - Zhai Zhigang, Liu Boming and Jing Haipeng, all aged 42 - for the mission.

The flight will be China's third manned space venture since October 2003, when it joined Russia and the US as the only countries to have sent astronauts into space.

This one will feature China's first space walk, expected now on Saturday.

China sent two more astronauts on a five-day flight on its Shenzhou VI craft in October 2005.

Officials and state media have been hailing the prospective space feats as national triumphs, crowning the successes of the Beijing Olympics and dramatising the country's broader ambitions.

An expert said: "This will be a very outward show of Chinese power. The eventual goal is to build a space station. For them, that's become one of the trappings of being a great power."

Chief designer of the mission Zhou Jianping said: "Shenzhou VII is ready for its mission. The conditions are suitable for the lift off of the rocket today."

Mr Zhou said the timing of the space walk could be changed, depending on how long it took the astronauts to adjust.

The ability to do what is also called "extra-vehicular activity" is essential for China's long-term goals of an orbiting station in the next decade and possibly a visit to the moon.

A space scientist at Peking University: "The current manned spacecraft is just a tool towards a space station. "It's laying a foundation for the future."

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