New Zealand showcases IT innovation and Industry Success at CeBIT Hanover

• Monday, 27 February 2006

CeBIT Hanover/Germany, 9-15 March, Hall 3, Stand A 25

New Zealand showcases IT innovation and Industry Success at CeBIT Hanover

Twelve companies on New Zealand stand demonstrate Augmented Virtual Reality, Animated Multi-media, Wireless ATMs, Mobile Anti-Virus Among other Consumer and Enterprise IT solutions

London/Hanover, 27 February 2006 –New Zealand is bringing some of its best IT companies to CeBIT in Hanover, Germany. The “New Zealand – New Thinking” stand is a major initiative of New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) to support its Information & Communication Technology (ICT) industry in Europe and promote the country as a technology player on the international stage. Twelve New Zealand companies will be exhibiting at Stand A25 in Hall 3.

Centrepiece of the New Zealand stand is an interactive multimedia touch screen display that lets visitors transform themselves into virtual characters. Visitors to the stand will also be able to experience an augmented reality tennis game for mobile phones, where the phone is used like a tennis racket. Further highlights are: new software that enables users to create animated multimedia documents, an anti-virus solution for mobile phones, wireless ATMs and enterprise security, network and telematics solutions.

IT specialists, students and job starters who want to learn about career opportunities in New Zealand will be able to speak to Immigration New Zealand and Real Recruitment, who will also be present at the stand.

The future of computer interaction
New Zealand’s leading edge thinkers will discuss the future of man-computer interaction at the “The Human Touch – NZ’s New Thinking in Interactive Technology“ evening event on 13 March in the Convention Centre (Room 3B). Speakers will be Dr. Mark Billinghurst, Director of Human Interface Technology Lab and David Brebner of Unlimited Realities. Hon. Phil Goff, NZ Minister of Trade will join the evening event as a special guest.

This is New Zealand’s second visit to CeBIT and the exhibition is part of the country’s wider ICT promotion strategy. Technology is an important part of the New Zealand economy. Currently, the ICT industry contributes 5.6 billion NZ Dollars or 5.1% of New Zealand’s GDP; New Zealand is looking to grow this to 10% by 2012. The ICT sector includes more than 8000 ICT companies and provides the equivalent of 44,000 full-time jobs. The industry focus is mainly on visualisation and 3D animation, telecom and mobile technologies, but is also active in health care and transportation IT.

Marta Mager, New Zealand Trade Commissioner Hamburg, says: “New Zealand technology is competitive at the highest level but is often not visible enough to the rest of the world. Our presence at CeBIT seeks to change this and underlines the importance of Europe to our ICT industry. With Europe representing 30 percent of the world ICT market, no New Zealand ICT company with global aspirations can afford to ignore Europe.”

“The strong cultural affinities we share with Europe already provide New Zealand companies with a competitive advantage. Increasingly, New Zealand companies are spending time in Europe to develop relationships and a physical, visible presence, either directly or through competent distributors, and CeBIT is the right place to lay the foundations for their future success.”

Exhibiting on the New Zealand stand are: Human Interface Technology Laboratory (HITlab), Mako Networks, Maximum Availability, Next Window, Prolificx, Provenco, SimWorks, Unlimited Realities, Vcomms, Immigration NZ, Investment New Zealand and Real Recruitment. For more information on each of these companies visit www.marketnewzealand.com/cebit

About New Zealand Trade and Enterprise
New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE) is the New Zealand Government’s economic development agency. It puts international importers, agents, distributors, retailers and investors in touch with innovative New Zealand companies. NZTE has 48 offices worldwide, including offices in London, UK and Hamburg, Germany.

Notes to editors: New Zealand press events during CeBIT
As a special service, we will be running brief round table discussions on the first two days of the show, as well as guided tours of the stand.

Thursday 9 March and Friday 10 March, 3pm-4pm
New Ways of Man-Machine Interaction
Discuss the future of how we interact with computers with senior executives from human-computer interface research centre HIT Lab NZ, touch screen company NextWindow and software specialist Unlimited Realities.

Friday 10 March, 1.30pm-2.30pm
Pioneering Mobile Solutions
New Zealand was the test-bed for the world’s first GPRS network, developed one of the first anti-virus solutions for smartphones and is now a pioneer in using wireless ATMs. Meet the companies involved and discuss future developments.

You are also invited to join our evening event „The Human Touch - NZ's New Thinking in Interactive Technology“ on Monday 13 March from 5pm-7pm in room 3B, CeBIT Convention Center for an interesting discussion with Dr. Mark Billinghurst, HIT Lab NZ, and David Brebner, Unlimited Realities – and some fantastic NZ wine. A special guest will be Hon. Phil Goff, NZ Minister of Trade.

For more information, and to make an appointment, please contact Silja Binner / Bettina Winters, GBC, email nzte@gbc.co.uk, phone +44 208 322 1922.

This press release was distributed via SourceWire, a service from Daryl Willcox Publishing, on behalf of Grant Butler Coomber. For more information visit http://www.dwpub.com/pressreleasewires