CHENGDU, Nov. 24 (Xinhua) -- Health checks on Tuesday showed two giant pandas selected to be sent to Australia for research are healthy and qualified for the trip, a panda research center said Tuesday.

    Australian and Chinese veterinarians conducted blood, physical, digestive system and type-B ultrasonic tests on 4-year-old male Wang Wang in the morning and the same checks on 3-year-old female Fu Ni in the afternoon, said Tang Chunxiang, director with the Bifengxia Giant Panda Breeding Center in Ya'an City, Sichuan Province, in southwest China.

    Preliminary test results showed that the two pandas "are in perfect health condition," said Tang.

    The two are scheduled to leave Sichuan on Friday and arrive in Australia Saturday morning.

    They will live at Adelaide Zoo for 10 years for a joint research program, according to a bilateral agreement signed in 2007.

    Two Chinese experts would accompany the pandas to Australia until they adapted to the new environment, said Tang.

    Chinese experts had trained Australian veterinarians and panda breeders, and the Australian side had planted 10 hectares of special bamboo to feed the pandas.

    Giant pandas, known for being sexually inactive, are among the world's most endangered animals due to shrinking habitat.

    There are about 1,590 pandas living in China's wild, mostly in Sichuan and the northwestern provinces of Shaanxi and Gansu.