FEBRUARY 27, 2003---IDEAlliance announces its annual XML Europe Conference and Exposition, being held this year, 5-6 May 2003, at the Hilton London Metropole, in London, England. This week-long event will provide participants with plenary sessions, conference tracks broken down into specific topic areas, detailed tutorials, as well as a variety of informal business receptions, discussion groups and social events. Conference highlights will include keynote addresses from the leaders of XML technology and related Web-based standards, such as Sun Microsystems and OASIS. Two new events for 2003 are the ebXML Conference and the Financial Services Forum. Presenters from more than 15 nations will deliver peer-reviewed papers before an audience of more than 800 IT professionals from the European community and beyond, including applications engineers, chief information officers, directors of e-business, project managers and team leaders from Fortune 500 corporations, government agencies and nonprofit organizations. The Exposition floor will feature vendors from Europe, North America, and Asia. More than 50 providers of software, systems and solutions are slated to showcase their latest innovations this May at the London venue. Last year's event had more than 650 attendees and this year's event promises to draw an even greater crowd. "This year's conference takes as its theme 'Powering the Information Society,' reflecting the crucial place that XML is taking in underpinning many of the systems that form a real part of our lives", says Edd Dumbill, Editor of XML.com and Conference Chair of the XML Europe event. "XML Europe 2003 will mix the newest technology with the latest thinking in the business and legal issues of information management." "XML Europe continues to draw new companies and participants each year, a testament to the growing need for XML and its related standards," says David Steinhardt, President and CEO of IDEAlliance. "Attendees to this year's conference will discover dozens of important, new XML-based products and services and hear the latest on industry standards and technologies. The event will once again feature XML experts from around the world." Participants can register for XML Europe 2003 on line by visiting www.xmleurope.com. See website for complete details on program, registration, and more.