HONG KONG, Dec. 3 (Xinhua) -- ITU (International Telecommunication Union) TELECOM WORLD 2006 will be held in Hong Kong, China on Dec. 4-8, the first time the event takes place outside ITU's home base in Geneva since its inception in 1971.

    Organized by ITU, ITU Telecom World is the leading industry event for the global information and communication technology (ICT) industry.

    Under the theme of "living the digital world", this year's event includes a vibrant exhibition, topical forum, Youth Forum, Telecom Development Symposium, special sessions and roundtable workshops along with numerous networking opportunities.

    More than 600 companies in ICT industry worldwide will bring their latest products and services to the expo, including more than 100 ones from Chinese mainland and more than 70 ones from Hong Kong. Showing at the expo includes big names in the industry, such as Alcatel, Cisco, Ericsson Fujitsu, IBM, Intel, as well as China Telecom, China Mobile, China Unicom and China Netcom.

    Alongside the exposition, the Telecom Forum will also be held, during which Chinese and foreign government officials as well as CEOs of multinational companies will be invited to discuss issues under three domains, namely, Digital Lifestyle, Digital Ecosystem and Digital Society.

    Under the domain of Digital Lifestyle, the forum will explore current and future lifestyles and how they are shaped by ICTs. The focus of this domain will be on the demand side of the ICT sector, examining market trends, user behavior and consumer preferences.

    The digital ecosystem is composed of many different kinds of companies which interlink, cooperate and compete to provide equipment, services and applications to users. The focus of the "Digital Ecosystem" will be on the supply side of the industry and on the development of efficient business models.

    The domain "Digital Society" will look at the challenges for stakeholders in maintaining a transparent regulatory environment and building an information society for all.

    The event is expected to attract up to 60,000 visitors to Hong Kong, comprising 35,000 to 50,000 trade visitors, 2,500 forum delegates, and 2,000 VIPs.