So let the rumors begin. Mary Dolaher, IDG World Expo CEO, has just confirmed in a statement for MacWorld that the 2008 editionof  Macworld Conference & Expo 2008 will be opened by no other than Steve Jobs, Apple CEO.

The Macworld Conference & Expo 2008 will take place from January 14 to 18, 2008 and Steve Jobs will deliver his keynote on Tuesday, Jan. 15, 2008 at 9:00 AM in the Moscone West facility at San Francisco’s Moscone Convention Center.

"This is one of the biggest Mac community gatherings of the year and Steve’s keynote is always the most anticipated event of the week," PC World quoted Dolaher. "We're looking forward to a great show and are thrilled that Steve will once again be kicking it off"

Last year the Macworld Conference & Expo registered 45,572 attendees. Over the years, Jobs has used his keynote to announce new Apple products. For example in January 2006 Jobs announced the availability of the first Intel iMacs and last year he introduced Apple’s famous mobile phone iPhone.

So far it is hard to speculate what Jobs will announce during his keynote. The 3G version of iPhone is a possibility, but it could also be about a new Apple-branded ultra-portable subnotebook, as some analysts noted.

Considering Jobs’ previous speeches I can bet it will be something spectacular!