FRANKFURT (Reuters) - The IFA consumer electronics trade fair drew more visitors and exhibitors than expected this year, organizers said as the fair drew to a close on Wednesday.

"Our high expectations have clearly been topped," Messe Berlin and gfu -- the association for entertainment and communications electronics-- said in a statement.

The world's oldest consumer trade fair drew 1,212 exhibitors from 32 countries, a new record and an increase of 15 percent from 2006.

IFA organizers had expected 1,049 exhibitors, of which 651 were expected to be international companies.

The 2007 fair was open to the public from Aug 31 to Sept 5 and around 235,000 visitors took the chance to view new technology put on display by more than 700 international companies such as Sharp , Panasonic and LG Electronics .

In 2006 the fair had some 212,000 visitors.

"The IFA 2007 is indeed a great success for us ... a 10 percent increase in volume of orders speaks a clear language," Christian Goeke, managing director of Messe Berlin, said.

The main focus this year was on high definition media as well as Web-based television. Navigation devices, digital imaging and digital music as well as mobile devices were also high on the agenda, Messe Berlin and gfu said.

Since last year, the IFA has evolved into an annual event from the biennial show that has for decades been the stage for innovations such as the DVD in 1985.
Copyright 2007 Reuters.

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