CES Googles Keynote Speaker

The Consumer Electronics Association has lined up Larry Page, cofounder and president of products of Google, to deliver a keynote address at the 2006 International Consumer Electronics Show.

The CEA made the announcement Tuesday at a press preview for the show, which is being held Jan. 5-8 in Las Vegas.

The show’s lineup of keynote speakers now includes Microsoft Corp. chairman Bill Gates, Sony Corp. chairman Howard Stringer, Intel Corp. CEO Paul Otellini and Yahoo! Inc. chairman Terry Semel. Other speakers include Kevin Martin, chairman of the Federal Communications Commission, and Verizon Communications Inc. CEO Ivan Seidenberg.

The CEA also said the Sands Expo and Convention Center will serve as the home for its Innovations Plus exhibitions, and one of the big focuses at that location will be voice over Internet protocol.

And the trade group projected that there will be a 9% increase in retails sales for consumer-electronics goods during the holiday season.