The organization announced the selection of Austin at its current meeting in Adelaide, Australia. Several Austin groups banded together to pitch the site as the host city for 2006. The congress will meet in Athens in 2004.

The World Congress brings together leaders from business, education and government to discuss information technology issues. When last held in the US, the event drew 1,900 senior executives from 90 countries. The organizers of Austin's nomination estimate the meeting could generate $17 million for the Austin economy. The expansion of the Austin Convention Center and the construction of an 800-room Hilton Hotel, to open in January 2004, gives Austin the capacity to host such a gathering.

The theme proposed for the Austin gathering, scheduled for May, is "Embracing New Directions," according to Sara Breuer, who's attending the Adelaide meeting. She says the meeting ate up just about every hotel room in Adelaide, abetted by visits from former President Bill Clinton, who spoke at the World Congress, and Queen Elizabeth.