Mumbai: Bangalore IT.Com 2004, Asia's largest, most representative IT trade exhibition, will be hosted from November 1 to 5, 2004, to provide an international platform for showcasing the latest products and services in the ICT industry from India and around the world.

The event organised by the department of IT, biotechnology and science and technology, government of Karnataka, in partnership with Software Technology Parks of India (STPI), Bangalore, gives opportunity to the ICT industry to showcase their skills and products before a broad range of corporate and government decision-makers.

'Shape the future with ICMT' is the theme of Bangalore IT.Com 2004. With the backdrop of India emerging as one of the key destinations of the global $40 billion gaming and animation industry, this year the event will host a special pavilion on animation, games and media technology.

The pavilions arranged thematically represent infrastructure and e-security, spectrum, software solutions, IT giants, IT nations and STPI. Keen to invest in the student community, an exclusive career stall for the BPO and the ITES industry has been designed as a springboard to the industry and job seekers.

The 2004 agenda has been developed with the best minds and thinkers in enterprise technology with one goal in mind: to lay the groundwork for sustained growth and development across the global IT community. Bangalore IT.Com 2004 will witness an array of sessions such as ICMT for development, knowledge summit, outsourcing summit and venture conference with the confluence of technology leaders, industry experts and international business leaders. The conferences promise to take the participants on the fast track of some of the hottest issues of best management practices in outsourcing, 3G, wireless technology and security, to name a few.

The 2003 Bangalore IT.Com was a resounding success with a total participation of 285 companies in the trade show, occupying 20,000 sq mts of space, out of which 120 were foreign companies. There were 10 pavilions and about 1,50,000 visitors, out of which over 40,000 were business visitors. The event witnessed high-level trade delegations from 15 countries. The conferences covered eight topics including BPO, e-Governance, IT for the common man, in which over 1,700 delegates participated.

The Students Internet World, one of the features of BangaloreIT.Com, will for the first time be organised in all the district headquarters of the state, thereby, providing an opportunity to over 1.5 lakh students to get initiated to the wonderful world of the Internet, as compared to just 30,000 students in the previous years.

Bangalore IT.Com is the benchmark show for the IT industry in the Asian region, and this year it is expected to feature the participation of more than 300 companies representing more than 20 countries. With a sound mix of local, regional and international IT product and service providers, the exhibition also serves as the key launch pad for new technologies and product launches in the region.