A Chinese giant panda research center is planning the first release of a captive-raised giant panda into the wild on Friday.

Xiang Xiang, a four-year-old male raised in Wolong Giant Panda Protection and Research Center, is to be a pioneer for more than 180 captive-bred pandas around the world, said Zhang Hemin, the center's head.

The release was important for the protection of the endangered species as Xiang Xiang's experience would help scientists to study how artificially-raised pandas adapt to the wild, said Zhang.

He said the center, in southwest China's Sichuan Province, would use a global positioning system device to track Xiang Xiang.

Most captive giant pandas are artificially bred and scientists have found their natural instincts much diminished, with some unwilling to mate. Only 24 percent of females in captivity give birth, posing a serious threat to repopulation.

Xiang Xiang, which means "auspicious", was born in August 2001.He was selected for natural habitat training at the age of two.

Training began in the 20,000 square meter open air training center, and he was later transferred to a home 10 times larger that simulated the natural habitat, said Zhang.

With nearly three years' training, Xiang Xiang has learned how to build a den, forage for food and mark his territory.

He has also developed defensive skills by howling and biting just as a wild giant panda would do, said Zhang.

In March, giant panda experts from the State Forestry Administration (SFA) and the Wolong center agreed that Xiang Xiang was ready for freedom.

He is being released at the height of the season for bamboo shoots, making it easier to find food, said Zhang.

China started a giant panda training project in 2003 to teach the animals to live in the wild before releasing them.

The Wolong center was assigned to implement the project with an estimated cost of at least 100 million yuan (12.5 million U.S. dollars).

Co-sponsored by the Chinese government and the World Wide Fund for Nature, the center was established in 1980 in Wolong Nature Reserve. It has bred 57 cubs since 1991, 45 of which have survived.

Giant pandas are the world's most endangered species. Over 180 pandas live in captivity, and 1,590 in the wild, mostly in the mountains of Sichuan, studies by the SFA show.