CROWDS SWAMP GERMANY'S BIGGEST ELECTRONICS TRADE FAIR

       Dominated by flat-panel televisions in every variation, the IFA consumer electronics trade fair began on Friday in Berlin, offering hundreds of thousands of European fans a look at the world's newest audio and video gadgets.
       Chancellor ANgela Merkel ceremonially opened IFA at a Thursday evening reception at the city fairgrounds, where an industry leader told her the booming sector was all but recession-proof.
       "Our sector is defying the crisis," said Rainer Kecker, head of the GFU German consumer electronics trade association that runs the event.
       A total of 1,164 manufacturers from 60 nations are axhibiting at the event, which runs until September 9.
       Many products are being promoted with claims of green technology inside through reduced use of heavy metals and other pollutants.
       Cutting power use by plasma and liquid-crystal-display (LCD) television sets is a key aim of the industry.
       LCD sets with light-emitting diode (LED) backlights are centrepieces at this year's show.
       Backlights shine through the screens to create an image.
       Makers say thatg converting backlights to LED light sources, instead of using fluorescent tubes, reduces electricity use by up to 40 per cent.
       Merkel said many products introduced at IFA quickly become big sellers but she chided German broadcasters for their long delay in introducing high-definition television, which is only now starting in Germany.
       "It was first demonstrated at IFA 24 years ago, she said.
       Two big Japanese-based electronics groups, Sony and Panasonic, have said this week they are on the verge of launching home televisions that play three-dimensional (3D) recordings and broadcasts.
       The illusion requires viewers to wear special spectacles.
       But the two company's systems are currently incompatible, raising fears of a new format war in the industry.
       Crowds of consumer-electronics fans swarmeld trough the fairground on Friday.
       Europe's biggest annual gadgets event features 1,164 brands from 60 nations.
       Temporary cinemas demonstrated big-screen 3D movies, whihc manufacturers Sony and Panasonic hope to introduce on home television screens next year.
       However some executives grumbled that too much talk of the future was distracting the public from the new products that are actually on display, including high-definition televisions and DVD players.
       Unlike trade-only events such as the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, IFA encourages crowd attendance, with masses of leaflets and plenty of products to try out, mostly held by steel cables to deter thieves.
       "Would you like me to demonstrate our new television?" says one smiling hostess to anyone who will listen.
       "Have you heard about our new coffee maker?" warbles another.
       At IFA, nobody goes home without having accepted several free cups of hot coffee from the hostesses.
       Celebrity chefs from German television food shows were manning many of the home-appliance booths, demonstrating labour-saving kitchen gear and handing out titbits.