The 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show opens to the public Monday in Las Vegas, but it actually starts Saturday with press conferences followed by media-only access to the showroom floor Sunday. So you’ll start hearing about the latest electronics products from more than 2,700 exhibitors starting this weekend. Here are some websites to check regularly for updates:

CNET: If you bookmark only one site for CES coverage, make it CNET. No other site offers the same depth and breadth of information. This year’s offerings will include CNET Live real-time reports from the show and, as always, the indispensible Best of CES awards.

International CES: The official site actually does a great job of keeping up with news, but there’s not a lot of perspective. Your best bet is to follow the official blog, CES Straight Talk.

NBC: NBC Nightly News will be broadcasting live from CES as part of a stunt to debut the network’s new website. I couldn’t find any dedicated CES microsite, but keep an eye on the tech section of MSNBC. 

Yahoo!: Yahoo! Tech has set up a CES microsite that has already been posting preshow news for the past few weeks. Developments can be tracked by category, and users can post comments under each story.  

Technology Evangelist: The Eden Prairie-based website is gearing up for its third year at CES. Expect lots of healthy skepticism in response to all of the glitzy product debuts and ga-ga coverage by mainstream media. Techno-preacher Ed Kohler has already posted a few things he has learned from previous CES visits. Post your comments letting him know what you want to hear about the show.

Engadget: The plucky gizmo-oriented website has set up a CES microsite for the latest news. 

High Def Digest: The battle between the competing high-def disc formats, Blu-ray and HD DVD, will be one of the big talkers at CES. So the best coverage of that angle will probably come from this dedicated site. It even has created a 2008 CES Forum for high-def fans to discuss all the news and rumors coming out of the show.

Other techno sites worth checking out for hands-on CES coverage include Gizmodo, E-Gear and the ol’ reliable, a Google News search. 

if you have a favorite site you use to track CES, let me know and I’ll add it to the mix.

I’m not going to the 2008 International Consumer Electronics Show, but that hasn’t kept me from being inundated with press releases and phone calls about it for the past three months. “The world’s largest consumer technology tradeshow,” which opens Saturday afternoon in Las Vegas with press previews before opening to the public on Monday, draws thousands of people to see the many new and upcoming electronic products on display at three sprawling venues.

There are more than 2,700 exhibitors at CES, and not everyone is a huge, recognizable name like Microsoft, Panasonic or Sony. So their flacks often come up with ways to draw media coverage, whether it’s free food and drink, giveaways or other enticements. Sometimes, a quirky product is all they need. Here are some of the things I’ve been pitched:

* Winplus makes cheap Bluetooth-enabled gear. If I stop by its “Yada car” each day and am the first person to answer a “Seinfeld” trivia question, I will win “a free Yada all-in-one Bluetooth headset, car charger and phone holder.”  Amazon sells those things for $50 each. You’d think Winplus would give one away every five minutes and just write it off as a promotional cost.

* Liquid Image will be demonstrating its Digital Underwater Camera Mask. What’s the over/under on how long it will be before you see some TV journalist wearing one of these during a broadcast from the showroom floor?

* I can “be a VIP” at the invitation-only (I have a feeling that the list of invitees is as long as the number of media registered for CES) launch of Vestalife’s Ladybug iPod docking thingie. If I miss the launch, I can schmooze with the ladybugs at Vestalife’s daily cocktail hour after the show. (You just know that there must be journalists who do nothing but “cover” the cocktail-hour circuit.)

* I can RSVP (only) to see what Qualcomm has to show “BEHIND CLOSED DOORS.” The event is being held in the Opium Room at Tao Night Club in the Venetian Hotel. Maybe I should send some undercover DEA agents in my place.

* JVC is serving breakfast before its press conference. After my horrible experience with my first DVD player, a JVC model, the company would have to offer a lot more than that.

* Spykee is introducing its new line of Bluetooth- and voice-activated robots that can be controlled remotely  “from anywhere in the world.” Now there’s a reason not to go to CES.

We interrupt this PR recap to note that speaker maker KEF has aquired six adjoining hospitality suites “in order to create a laid-back atmosphere that will be a welcomed relief from the hustle-and-bustle of the showroom floor.” KEF promises “an unforgettable” experience. Now back to the flack matter.

* Among the “top 5 reasons” that La Crosse Technology gives for checking out its new weather system, introduced by WCCO meteorologist Paul Douglas, is No. 4: “Breakfast will be served.” Never underestimate the power of free food in attracting media coverage, especially first thing in the morning.

* Audio-Technica will be showcasing its new QuietPoint noise-canceling headphones. If you check them out during selected hours, you can get a free massage from a therapist while you listen. (Note to self: Distrust any media raves about Audio-Technica’s new QuietPoint headphones.) 

* In its “media alert” about its CES product launches, LCD display maker HANNspree notes in large letters that “LUNCH WILL BE SERVED.” And, oh, yeah, we have LCD monitors.

Sorry, that’s all I can take for now. The above is drawn from the nearly 100 press releases and phone calls I’ve received just since Friday — over a holiday weekend! A quick search of the CES email filter I set up to handle the hundreds of emailed press releases I’ve received shows that nearly 60 have promised some kind of breakfast, lunch, cocktail hour, reception or other way to get free food and drink. I clearly erred in listing projected meal expenses in my trip proposal.