Tighter security coming to Comdex

IDG News Service - Attendees at this year's Comdex/Fall exhibition will be met with bomb-sniffing dogs, metal detectors and surveillance cameras, organizers of the event said today.

Taxis, shuttles and cars will drop people off at a distance from the building, and attendees will be turned away if they try to enter the building with briefcases or bags other than women's purses. Once inside the conference center, they will be able to carry around bags given to them by vendors, but if they leave, they will have to drop the bags off elsewhere and return empty-handed.

Those were some of the security measures that have emerged for this year's Comdex event, to be held in Las Vegas Nov. 12-16.

Attendees should allow extra time to pass through security checks before entering the show, according to Los Angeles-based Key3Media Events Inc., the exhibition's organizer. And security guards will be patrolling the show floor.

The heightened security comes in the wake of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on the U.S. and continuing warnings that additional strikes could be imminent. Attendees are being told, for example, to make sure they carry valid photo identification, such as a passport or U.S. driver's license, at all times during the event, organizers said.

They will also be required to pick up attendance badges in person and are being told to expect that photo identification will be required before the badges will be issued, organizers said. No one will be allowed to collect badges for colleagues or friends who aren't present to pick up their own badges, they said.

The security policies will be enforced for access to the Las Vegas Convention Center property, the Las Vegas Hilton, the Silver Lot tented areas and the MGM Grand Garden Arena, organizers said.

Computerworld's Deborah Radcliff contributed to this report.

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