NEW YORK, NY -- (MARKET WIRE) -- 02/06/08 -- Always known for 'scoring big' with audiences, New York Times technology columnist and Emmy-winning CBS News correspondent David Pogue is bringing his rousing mix of music, wit and technological expertise to a special keynote luncheon at CTST 2008 on Wednesday, May 14th.

CTST (formerly CardTech SecurTech), produced by SourceMedia and the Smart Card Alliance, is the largest event on payment, security and identification technologies in the Americas and attracts over 2,000 attendees annually. The 2008 event will be held May 12th to 15th in Orlando, Fla.

"David Pogue is 'the' authority that consumers look to for an informative and entertaining look at all of the newest technologies and trends," said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Smart Card Alliance. "Recent initiatives in the smart card industry, particularly in contactless and mobile payments, are built around consumers, and their success depends on consumer awareness and adoption. David understands how consumers think, and his wit and entertaining delivery is sure to register with the CTST audience."

Pogue, one of the world's best selling how-to authors with over 3 million books in print, is the personal-technology columnist for the New York Times, contributing a print column, an online column and an online video each week. Daily, he writes the Times' most popular blog, "Pogue's Posts." Pogue is also an Emmy-winning technology correspondent for CBS News, a contributor of weekly comic tech videos for CNBC, and a frequent guest on NPR's "Morning Edition."

A New CTST for 2008

Combining the Smart Card Alliance Annual conference and SourceMedia's CardTech SecurTech, CTST 2008 reflects a fresh, new approach to exploring technological developments in payment cards and security across multiple industries. Attendees can look forward to creating their own conference experience from four focused tracks: Identification and Policy; Payments and Applications; Mobile and NFC; and Security and Access Control; plus two additional min-tracks, the Emerging Technology and Innovation Spotlight and the Latin America Spotlight.

"With so much convergence talk happening across industry verticals, particularly in the payments and mobile arenas, attendees can choose to focus on one track, or mix and match sessions from different tracks to get a broader perspective on the market," said Vanderhoof. "The mobile and NFC track is an exciting new addition to CTST, and timely, with pilots ramping up all over the world allowing consumers to pay for goods and services with a wave of a mobile phone. This is also the first year we will be taking a detailed look at the Latin American market, which has recently seen a large uptake of smart card technology."

CTST 2008 will also feature an expanded and revamped exhibit hall and full day, in-depth pre-conference workshops. For more information and to register for discounted pricing before March 14th, please visit www.ctst.com.

About SourceMedia Conferences and the Smart Card Alliance

Each year, SourceMedia Conferences & Events attract over 20,000 attendees worldwide to over 70 events. Its products include but are not limited to conferences, exhibitions, roundtables, exclusive dialogues for CEOs, CFOs and other top executives, Web seminars, road shows, Pod casts and custom events.

The Smart Card Alliance is a not-for-profit, multi-industry association working to stimulate the understanding, adoption, use and widespread application of smart card technology. It has over 170 members worldwide, including participants from financial, government, enterprise, transportation, mobile telecommunications, healthcare, and retail industries.

Media Contact:
Deb Montner
Montner & Associates
203-226-9290
dmontner@montner.com