CeBIT opens to renewed hopes for growth

German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder opened CeBIT 2004 with a pledge to strengthen his country's progress towards e-government, and aid the growth of the European technology market.

Schroeder said that, while growth rates for the German IT market would remain sluggish this year, he expected a recovery in 2005.

And he added that digital signatures would be legally admissible for business and government by the end of 2005.

"Our aim is to make state and public services more efficient, and we want all citizens in Germany to be able to participate in the digital future," said Schroeder.

"Successes are already visible, but we want to have more and to become better still."

The chancellor was joined by Kunitake Ando, president of Sony, who was introduced by one of his company's new QRIO robots. QRIO can run at 14 metres a minute and has a wide vocabulary.

Ando stressed that the world was on the verge of benefiting from a new broadband era.

"IT, communications and entertainment are all coming together," he said. "A world of connected devices is emerging with new applications and content that will delight consumers."