For his Thursday morning keynote speech at the 2006 Consumer Electronics Show, Sony CEO Sir Howard Stringer (left) brought some star power on stage. Joining him for some advance publicity on the Sony Pictures version of the bestseller “The Da Vinci Code” are actor Tom Hanks, director Ron Howard and producer Brian Grazer.

A highlight of Bill Gates’ opening keynote speech at CES was some hand-to-Xbox combat with fellow Microsoft exec Steve Ballmer. The two sparred via the “Fight Night Round 3,” video game. Gates played as Muhammad Ali and Ballmer as Joe Frazier. The bout went to Gates in a knockout.

Gates’ on-stage dance card also included pop music star Justin Timberlake. The two were accompanied by MTV Music Group President Van Toffler to present the new Urge music service.

In a flashback to the early days of personal computing, the opening keynote also featured a video with a young Bill Gates and Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen.

The calm before the visitors began storming the doors of the Las Vegas Convention Center.

The Funky Monks rocking out at Creative’s booth during CES.

Intel is using CES as the occasion to make a splash with its new logo. This poster greeted travelers at the Las Vegas airport.

The Yahoo tent at CES. CEO Terry Semel speaks on Friday.

With CES in full swing, the show-bound traffic was heavy, and the parking lots were full.

Some 2,500 exhibitors are converging on CES in Las Vegas to get the attention of industry professionals, the media and consumers.

At CES, vendors show off all manner of gadgets, including state-of-the-art tech for automobiles.