The European Commission has announced the winners of the 2004 Information Society Technology prizes. Each winner is invited to exhibit their product at this November's IST 2004, where the three winners of the Grand Prizes - worth €200,000 - will be announced.

Enterprise and Information Society commissioner Olli Rehn said the contest is a breeding ground for technological excellence, and hence for industrial competitiveness. "European IST Prize winners attract international recognition and great interest from venture capitalists," he added.

The final 20 were selected from over 400 entries from 29 countries in the region through what Commissioner Rehn described as a "tough screening process".

The IST Prize is organised by Euro-CASE, a non-profit organisation of national Academies of Applied Sciences, Technologies and Engineering, and is sponsored by the European Commission. The event is supposed to showcase how technology can be used to develop "new ways of living, working together, communicating, and ensuring that every citizen benefits from the knowledge-based economy", according to a statement from the Commission.

F-Secure's Mobile Anti-Virus Service is on the list and France's DoLabs gets the nod for its DxO optics-simulating and image enhancing software. Babboo.com and Skinkers are there, representing the UK.

Full details of the winners and other nominees are available at www.ist-prize.org. ®

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