The ITU Telecom World Conference kicked off Monday, with King Juan Carlos of Spain among those attending the opening ceremonies. CNN reports that the conference in Geneva — organized by U.N. agency International Telecommunications Union — is attracting other heads of state, as well as government ministers, regulators, chief executives of multinational corporations and leading industry experts.

MessageOne has announced the launch of version 3.0 of its Linux-based Emergency Messaging Systems (EMS) with new enhancements that include: built-in emergency employee notification capabilities, guaranteed RIM BlackBerry and other wireless device forwarding support, and service for Lotus Notes – complementing the existing service for Microsoft Exchange.

Microsoft and Vodafone announced today at ITU World Telecom in Geneva they’ll work together to develop and promote XML-based mobile Web standards. The Feature reports that the two companies have worked together before — in September 2000 they said they’d work together to deliver mobile access to Outlook, which appeared to culminate with the June 2001 release of Vodafone OfficeLive, which used Microsoft’s Mobile Information Server in conjuction with Exchange, though it also worked with Lotus Notes systems.

Pumatech announced it is extending its Intellisync synchronization solution to the mobile phone market with the introduction of Intellisync: Phone Edition. The new, phone-based product supports popular mobile phone platforms and provides users with a way to ensure that contact information stored in their phones is up-to-date and in sync. The initial release of Intellisync: Phone Edition software delivers two-way synchronization of contact data between Microsoft Outlook and specific mobile phones manufactured by Motorola, Nokia, Samsung and LG.

Bill Gates will use his keynote address at the ITU World Telecom in Geneva this week to unveil Wireless Provisioning Services (WPS) for subscribers to public access hot spots. InfoWorld says that WPS will become available as a downloadable software upgrade to Windows XP and as a Service Pack release for Windows Server 2003 in the first quarter of 2004.

News.com says that Sharp has released the Actius RD3D, a notebook that comes with a specialized 15-inch screen with a so-called parallax barrier that lets people view 3D images or run 3D applications without special glasses. The notebook also comes with a software bundle from Dynamic Digital Depth (DDD) that can give flat applications, videos and pictures a three-dimensional look on the fly.

Palm announced that Institutional Shareholder Services Inc. (ISS) has evaluated the transaction Palm has put before stockholders for a vote on Oct. 28 and recommended stockholders approve it.The transaction would result in the spin-off of PalmSource, Inc., the Palm subsidiary responsible for developing and licensing Palm OS platform for handheld computers and smartphones, and the distribution of PalmSource common stock to Palm’s stockholders. The transaction also would result in the acquisition of Handspring, Inc., and the issuance of shares of Palm common stock — immediately following the PalmSource distribution — to Handspring stockholders. Following the spin-off of PalmSource and the acquisition of Handspring, Palm, Inc. will assume a new name, palmOne, Inc.

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JP Mobile announced that SureWave Enterprise Server (SureWave) 4.1 will support browser-based access to corporate data from mobile phones with WAP-compatible browsers. SureWave already helps enterprise IT management extend applications to their mobile workers using Palm, Pocket PC, RIM and Symbian handheld devices via bi-directional synchronization. With SureWave, mobile workers can securely access Microsoft Exchange, Lotus Domino and a growing list of enterprise line-of-business applications from all types of mobile devices.

TechTV has this first look at Nokia’s N-Gage, a portable gaming device mated with a cellphone and a host of other features. N-Gage was released with week along with 10 titles, including “Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater” and Sega’s “SonicN.” You can also synch basic contact, calendar, to-do, and notes info with desktop PIMs including Microsoft Outlook and Lotus Notes.