The Los Angeles Auto Show made a low-key start here Wednesday as executives from the biggest US automakers appeared in Washington to seek a multi-billion dollar loan to keep the industry afloat.

Ford officials put on a brave face at the Los Angeles Auto Show on Wednesday, insisting the company had a future even as US auto industry executives sought a multi-billion dollar bailout.

Renault-Nissan chief Carlos Ghosn said carmakers must adapt to survive the turmoil threatening the industry as the Los Angeles Auto Show got underway here Wednesday.

In an opening address, Ghosn described the current financial crisis as `very serious` and compared the climate to the Great Depression.

BERLIN, Sept 5, 2007 (AFP) - Visitor numbers were up strongly this year at IFA, the world's leading consumer electronics fair, organisers said on Wednesday.

A total 235,000 visitors attended the fair between August 31 and September 5, an increase of 10.6 percent over the previous year, IFA organisers said in a statement.

The number of exhibitors was up 15 percent at 1,212 this year from 32 different countries, and the total exhibition space increased by 12 percent.