I have been to the Comdex Fall exhibition in Las Vegas every year for the past five years.

This year, in light of recent world events, I am staying in Brighton and wondering what will happen to the computer industry next.

The exhibition is going ahead as usual, but without many of the big names. According to sources, it's not the vibrant Comdex of old.

There will be fewer technology vendors to greet visitors as security concerns and a slumping economy put a damper on festivities.

However, the Sunday night opening address attracted a capacity crowd of around 15,000 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena, in an event that was part multimedia road show, part rock concert and, somewhat surprisingly, part homespun humour.

Bill Gates, of Microsoft, painted an upbeat picture for the future of the computer industry, extolling the virtues of Windows XP and predicting the new Tablet PC will pave the way to the future.

Despite the September 11 terrorist attacks, he predicted continued industry growth over the next ten years.

He said: "In the decade ahead, I can predict we'll see at least a 30-fold increase in e-commerce spending, a quadrupling of the number of email addresses and even faster growth in instant messaging."

Mr Gates said by the year 2010, the use of personal computers will grow dramatically and "computing technology will transform every part of our lives and fulfil the promise of truly secure, truly personal computing."

According to him, much of this promise will be fulfilled by the new Tablet PC, which was unveiled during a brief demonstration.

The Tablet, from Acer Computers, works like a standard PC, but has a flat screen that pivots so it can function like a notepad. Information is enter-ed using a stylus instead of a pen.

Mr gates said: "The Tablet takes cutting-edge PC technology and makes it available wherever you want it. It's a PC that's virtually without limits and, within five years, I predict it will be the most popular form of PC sold in America."

Other manufacturers who expect to have versions of the Tablet PC by the second half of 2002 include Compaq Computer, Fujitsu PC and Toshiba America Information Systems.

According to Mr Gates, XML Web services are a major part of the digital future. Based on Microsoft .NET technologies, . XML Web services enable applications to communicate and share data over the internet, independent of operating system or programming language.

Microsoft offered a preview of their new Xbox gaming console, which incorporates a DVD player and high-end graphics card. The console was launched in New York on Thursday.

Underlying every aspect of the Microsoft dream are the new Windows XP operating systems, which Mr Gates described as crucial to the digital decade.

He claimed XP, which has already sold more than seven million copies, has had a more successful launch than any other software product.

Mr Gates concluded his address by reminding the crowd of the benefits of computers: :We have more opportunity to improve the world than any other business."