WWW2006 conference registration opens

Registration for the 15th annual World Wide Web Conference 2006 has been opened by the University of Southampton's Professor Wendy Hall. The four-day event, to be held in the UK for the first time, will take place at the Edinburgh International Conference Centre between 23 and 26 May 2006. It is expected to attract 1500 to 2000 delegates and will bring together key players from the international community.

"WWW2006 will be the meeting ground for the brightest minds and the broadest thinkers to discuss, debate and set the future direction of the World Wide Web," said Professor Wendy Hall, Head of Southampton's School of Electronics and Computer Science, the conference organisers. "Attendance will be vital for anyone wanting to keep ahead of emerging technologies and innovation on the web."

The conference programme will feature papers on world-leading technical innovations in the mobile web; building and using large-scale web infrastructure; web-based software and information engineering; web ethics and the challenges of security and privacy. Invited speakers will explore the implications and applications of web technology for government, society and business through a series of individual presentations, panel discussions and questions from the floor.

"The conference has a growing reputation for its outstanding technical quality," said Dr Les Carr, one of the WWW2006 co-chairs. "We have invited speakers who will address the wider issues that adopting web technology causes society, and that means providing high-level sessions for information and media professionals, technology consultants, social commentators and political advisors."

Day one, Tuesday 23 May, is entitled Business Success and has a strong commercial focus. It will reflect on the impact of web-based innovation on the world of e-commerce and more traditional business models. The New Wave, Wednesday 24 May, investigates the next wave of capability for the web, the semantic and pervasive web, and how these will transform society over the next decade.

On Thursday 25 May the conference tackles the international impact of the web on global issues in science, education and security. The final day of the conference, Friday 26 May, scrutinises Society and the Web and the repercussions of the web on health. Areas of discussion will include web-based support for healthcare professionals, patients' confidentiality, terrorism, democracy, child protection and fraud.

Conference attendees will include a blend of key influencers such as CIOs, IT directors and decision makers from the public and private sector and researchers, technologists and developers from institutions and technology-driven businesses.

The conference registration opens with a limited number of tickets available at reduced rates. The special offer Early Bird Passport allows attendance to every event in the four-day conference calendar and covers all tracks and all public social events. The tickets cost £700 (students £400) and will be sold on a first come, first served basis.