Hanover, Germany  - The annual CeBIT expo in Hanover, Germany, showing off the newest developments in computers, software and IT, will be open between March 3-8.

In recent years, an overhaul of the fair to improve its appeal to industry has given it a bigger focus on software and equipment for business and public administration.

This year it will feature 4,300 exhibitors over 200,000 square metres of stand space. A day at the fair costs 38 euros (48 dollars).

The name CeBIT was originally an acronym for the "Centrum der Buero- und Informationstechnik" (office and IT centre) established in 1970 at the Hanover industry fair. CeBIT eventually became a full- fledged fair in 1986, but the "centre" name has stuck.

The biggest CeBIT of all time was in 2001 at the height of the dotcom boom, when 8,100 exhibitors filled 430,000 square metres of stand space - roughly double the size of this year's fair.

The event's owners are philosophical about the shrinkage, however.

Sven Michael Pruser, chief executive of CeBIT, notes that the computing industry is likely to come out of the current recession looking better than it did after the late 2001 crash.

"In the last crash, we were to blame," he said, speaking in the name of the industry. "This time round, and I see this from what the exhibitors are preparing, we are part of the solution.

Internet: www.cebit.de