"I will conduct space flights again if the motherland needs me to do so," Yang was quoted as saying by the China Daily.

"My colleagues and I are undergoing strict training as usual and are anticipating the next mission."

Yang was speaking from China's "Space City," the Jiuquan satellite launch center in northwest Gansu province, where he was launched as China's first man in space on the October 15, 2003 Shenzhou V space flight, the paper said.

The mission enabled China to become the third nation to achieve manned space flight, after the United States and the former Soviet Union.

The Shenzhou I to IV flights were unmanned test flights of China's fledgling manned space program.

The Shenzhou VI flight is expected to be a three to five-day mission that will include at least two astronauts, a significant change from Yang's solo mission. Officials have said the flight will likely take place in the autumn of 2005.

China is preparing a group of 14 astronauts for the flight.

According to Chinese press reports, Yang was chosen for the maiden voyage only hours before the flight. He has since become one of China's biggest celebrities.

During the one-day maiden flight Yang never left his seat in the return module or took off his space suit on the flight mainly aimed at testing the reliability and safety of the craft.

The next flight is expected to be much more elaborate with the astronauts conducting experiments in an orbital module that is capable of staying in orbit for months after the return capsule returns to earth.

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