CeBit to set up show in U.S.

Plans to create a CeBit trade show in the United States are in the works, says CeBit producer Ernst Raue of the Hannover Trade Fair Authority in a report in Handelsblatt. A search for a site for the trade show has already begun, according to Raue.

The move overseas comes after a lackluster turnout at last year's Comdex, hit by travel fears after the Sept. 11 attacks and a slumping economy. Comdex Fall 2001 had fewer than 150,000 visitors, while CeBit 2001 in Hannover, Germany, pulled in 850,000 people. "It's unbelievable that an IT trade show can't work in the United States," Raue said.

Staff writer Dietmar Mueller reported from Munich. Karen Said of ZDNN translated.