A gala Oracle conference ended on Wednesday with California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger praising technology and joking about online video of his wife driving while chatting on a mobile phone.

"Can you believe my wife gets caught three times?" Schwarzenegger quipped, referring to TMZ.com video and pictures posted online Wednesday showing his wife Maria Shriver holding a mobile telephone to her ear while driving.

"This is no-win," he continued, referring to a vow he made to take action regarding his wife evidently ignoring state law that requires motorists to use hands-free headsets for mobile telephones.

"If I don't create action the voters get upset and if I do create action with her then I get no action."

Shriver issued an apology and vowed to atone by donating her favorite old mobile telephone to a charity for victims of domestic violence.

"I just hope that some day in the future, we could have a hands-free mobile phone," Schwarzenegger said facetiously after joining Oracle chief executive Larry Ellison during a closing speech at Oracle Open World.

An estimated 35 000 people from more than 100 countries attended the annual gathering of Oracle fans and customers in San Francisco.

"I love all the techs: high tech, biotech, clean tech," the governor said. "Around the globe the best and brightest minds are working to overcome the challenges of the 21st century. I think technology will save us all."

Pivotal roles

Schwarzenegger credited science with helping him become a champion bodybuilder after immigrating to the United States as a young man and with making him appear heroic and "studly" as a movie action hero.

"How could I have done 'Terminator' and 'Conan the Barbarian' without all that technology?" he asked.

Schwarzenegger predicted that technology will play pivotal roles in dealing with climate change, energy needs, economic growth, and health woes.

"Technology's impact is flesh and blood," Schwarzenegger said. "I've seen the infinite limits of technology. Even though we're going through tough times, I've never been more confident about the future."

Schwarzenegger touted California as a cradle of innovation and congratulated Oracle on its $7.4-billion deal to buy Sun Microsystems.