MOSCOW, August 6 (RIA Novosti) - Russia hopes to attract a record number of companies to participate in a major air show outside Moscow on August 21-26, a senior Moscow city government official said Monday.

Over 540 Russian companies and at least 200 foreign firms from over 30 countries are expected to participate in MAKS-2007, an air show held every two years in the town of Zhukovsky, which hosts a military airbase.

"At present, 726 participants have begun setting up their exhibits at the show," said Pyotr Katsyv, the transport minister in the Moscow city government.

He also said the air show, which has grown in popularity each year, would attract a larger number of visitors and guests.

The last air show, MAKS-2005, gathered 642 companies from 42 states. Contracts signed during MAKS-2005 totaled about $1 billion.

Among the most notable deals closed at the show were the purchase of two Russian Il-76F military transport planes by Jordan, and a Russian-Indian deal on licensed production of AL-55I engines created by the Saturn Corporation.