What's new at Gitex this year?

The show is set to break quite a few records this time around. Some of the new features and developments at this year's event are:

-Record number of pre-registered visitors to this year's show number 13,440, underlining the show's increasing stature in the region and beyond. The number represents a remarkable increase from last year when 8,000 had pre-registered for the show.

-Tremendous increase in gross floor space, with the exhbition taking up all eight exhibition halls spilling over into the Sheikh Rashid Hall which opened up an additional 7,760 square metres to meet the surge in demand.

-E-Access gates introduced for the first time - new registration system put in place to better serve exhibitors and visitors and allow swift and easy access and reduce queues. It also provides a complete integrated platform for events database management helping in creating and customizing databases and enables import and control of unstructured data and management of badge printing.

-Mobile Exhibition Guide for better navigation - providing all exhibitors and visitors carrying a personal digital assistant (PDA) or mobile phone with a comprehensive downloadable index of exhibitors and a detailed floor plan to facilitate good networking at the exhibition. The guide can be downloaded from strategically placed booths in the foyers of the exhibition halls.

-Surge in country pavilions - strong representation from Bangladesh, Canada, China, Egypt, Finland, France, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Iran, Jordan, Korea, Lebanon, Morocco, Northern Ireland, Palestine, Spain, Taiwan and the UK, with Bangladesh, Morocco, Iran, Spain and China participating for the first time.

-Brand new airconditioned concourse interlinks halls on one level and houses a range of restaurants, fast food outlets, coffee shops, banks, retail outlets and business facilities for the benefit of both exhibitors and visitors.

-Dubai Internet City Community Pavilion: Located in the Sheikh Rashid Hall the pavilion houses over 40 of the leading IT companies in the region.

-New parking facilities become available with the addition of the multi-storey car park and the overflow parking lot across from the Trade Centre Tower to ease visitors¡¦ entry and exit to the exhibition.

-Spacious new media centre equipped with the most modern communications facilities including computer workstations, internet connection, fax and phone facilities, refreshment and relaxation facilities will make life for the media a lot easier.

-Gitex Technical Seminars make a comeback after a year due to popular demand, with more than 20 companies booking sessions for seminars and presentations. Among these are leading players like Winsoft, Inmarsat, NEC Computers International, Al Futtaim Telecom, Dell, SAP Arabia and Nilesoft.