There is plenty of room for new ideas at the 14th annual CeBIT, which runs from 24 February to 1 March and encompasses more than 4.5 million square feet of exhibition space.

Given Europ_s desire to use technology to fuel its economic engine, this year_s CeBIT computer fair is much more than just another trade show. Companies are competing to make an impact at what is billed as the largest Internet trade fair in the world, with more than 7,000 exhibitors and more than 700,000 visitors expected. Although the European technology market often plays catch-up to the United States, the region is looking to advance its lead in wireless Internet access and mobile phones. Wireless consortium Symbian on Wednesday kicked off the event by announcing its Quartz computing platform for handsets and other gadgets, which it said would combine email and Web browsing with personal-organizer and telephony functions by next year.
Also on Wednesday, German mobile phone operator E-Plus announced that it was launching the E-Plus Online Internet service. It will enable people to use either a mobile phone or a PC to link up to a portal offering access to the popular German news magazine Der Spiegel_s Web site and other material. Forrester Research predicts that as many as one-third of all Europeans will use mobile phones to access the Internet by 2004. But as in so many areas of surging innovation, questions remain about the business plans and long-range commercial viability of wireless services. Microsoft plans to unveil refinements planned for its Pocket PC hand-held computer operating system and its new Pocket Internet Explorer browser. The company is one of many trying to compete with the popular Palm handheld devices.