Germany's Frankfurt book fair, the world's biggest book trade show, officially opened Tuesday night, offering a major marketplace for buying rights and licenses and a global forum on the future of books, when facing the overwhelming digital age.

In the opening speeches, German Foreign Minister Guido Westerwelle and Argentine President Cristina Kirchner, whose country is the Guest of Honor this year, shared thoughts on a hot topic among publishers, booksellers, writers and even ordinary readers -- the very relationship between printed and digital books.

"When I look around here, the pain crying about the current situation of books does not seem to match the reality. In my eyes, the troubled patient, the book, is just in the best of health," Westerwelle said.

"I dare to predict that electronic books will not replace printed ones, but will complement them. The book will outlive all those people who want to dig its grave," he added.

Kirchner echoed that "as long as the word exists as the most important element of communication, books and the word will never die."

Observers believed that crashes between traditional books and digital ones were exaggerated, as sales of e-books only accounted for 3 to 5 percent of total sales in the U.S. publishing market, one of the most developed in the world. In Germany, the rate is even below 1 percent.

Two weeks before the fair, German Publishers and Booksellers Association released a survey of 785 companies, saying that most business leaders believed that printed books and e-books could coexist peacefully and "highly complementary," as both of them have unique selling points in the nature.

However, more and more professionals have realized that reading is undergoing an unprecedented revolution. Digitization is not only changing the way we produce books, but also the entire supply chain of story-telling.

The Book fair, which is the 62nd edition this year, tried to use the initiative of "Frankfurt Sparks" as a bridge between cutting-edge digital technologies and high-quality contents, which consists of two platforms known as "Frankfurt Hot Spots" and "Frankfurt StroyDrive."

Players in creative industries, such as authors, publishers, film makers, electric-game designers and composers, are expected to provide new powers for telling good stories beyond the boundaries of exiting formats. Media-makers and opinion-formers will discuss new business models, a "cross-media marketing, through two days of conferences and six presentation areas in the exhibition," organizers said.

Juergen Boos, the fair's director, told reporters that 7,533 exhibitors from 111 nations and regions would come to the 2010 trade show, posting a three-percent increase over the last year.

However, in September, initial figures showed declining bookings, with about 6,930 exhibitors planning to come. Organizers said many exhibitors booked their seats at last minutes.

The fair is to run from Oct. 6 to 10. From Wednesday to Friday, it opens doors to professional visitors and will welcome the public from the weekend.