"Mr. Gates recalled how during the 1990s at WEF some of the world's most powerful businessmen packed sessions in which "digital kids" told them how the Internet was going to change the world.

Now, he said, "there is almost an underestimation of what is going on."

Mr. Gates hinted at what he thinks will happen in the near term. Speech recognition "is very, very close" he said . It won't be long before computers can speak, listen, and deal with handwriting.

He also predicted that school curriculums will be digitized, with students carrying around tablet PCs instead of school books. Software will become more secure and get smarter, and will be able, for example, to determine whether to route a call to you during an important meeting or take a message."