Silicon Alley's European Vacation

If New York City is the center of the world, why are 50-plus New York companies schlepping their wares to a remote and expensive city on the French Riviera with lousy telephone connections and $24 kir royales? Surely there have to be more reasons than smoking cigarettes on a trade-show floor and catching midwinter Mediterranean rays

According to several New York new (and old) media concerns that two weeks ago attended the fourth annual Marche international de l'edition et des nouveux media (or, as it's better known through its mysterious quasi-acronym, MILIA), there are plenty of reasons. This year, more than 8,000 attendees from 52 countries met at this annual Frankfurt Book Fair of multimedia, held at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, the same place where the better known film festival happens in May . . .

At the New York New Media Association's booth, several New York-based companies, including Netcast, Hyperspace Cowgirls, Agency.com and the New York City Economic Development Corporation, were demo-ing products and taking meetings. Their trip was made possible by a $45,000 grant from Empire State Development's Global Export Market Services (GEMS).