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What does Bill Gates, the world's best-known computer geek, have to say to a hall packed with bright young students to sell them on a high-tech career?

"These are fun jobs," was the best line the founder of Microsoft had to offer. "They're not just jobs where you're stuck in a cubby hole writing code your whole life. They're really are about changing the world."

Mr. Gates made a quick stop in Canada yesterday at the University of Waterloo to put in a plug for his industry and his software company, a long-time destination for the university's graduates.

At a time when demand for skilled workers is rising, computer-science faculties across North America have watched student numbers dwindle in the past five years, thanks in part to the spectacular flame-out of the high-tech boom that left many investors with heavy losses and many workers without jobs.

Yesterday's visit, his only in Canada, is part of Mr. Gates's five-campus tour that includes some of the biggest computer-science schools in North America. In a later interview, he said he does not expect to reverse what he called a "scary trend" of falling enrolments in computer-science programs with a few campus visits. But his pitch to young people - that included an interview with MTV during his Waterloo stop - was clearly aimed at raising the profile of Microsoft with the generation that is the bread-and-butter of its greatest rivals, Apple and Google.

Asked if he felt falling interest in computer-science careers among young people is evidence of an image problem for the high-tech sector, Mr. Gates expressed dismay. He suggested that the prospect of working on "sexy products" such as iPods and X-boxes, and making a lot of money should be natural lures for young people. "They seem to be working in China and India," he said.

During his talk to students, Mr. Gates slammed U.S. visa rules that make it difficult for his company to bring in qualified workers from other countries and praised Canadian policy in this area. "The Canadian government makes it easier to bring in smart people," he said. Microsoft recently opened an office in Richmond, B.C., which serves as a base for international workers who cannot get the visa they need to work a couple of hours to the south at corporate headquarters in Redmond, Wash.

Talking to reporters, Mr. Gates dismissed suggestions that pressures for open access and the threat of piracy represent a concern for Microsoft's business model. And in the home of Canadian high-tech superstar and BlackBerry-maker Research in Motion, he made the point that mobile devices increasingly are relying on software. Microsoft, he said, plans to expand its footprint in this market. "We are going for a high-volume strategy," he said.

Tom Coleman, dean of the University of Waterloo's faculty of mathematics, which includes computer science, said his department is seeing clear signs of a rebound in interest, with applications for next September up 50 per cent. Interest in computer science is up 30 per cent.

He credited the increase to the university's reputation, its co-op program that provides students with work experience, and the school's long history of reaching out to promising high-school students through annual math contests, teacher workshops and summer camps.

Last year the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation gave the university $12.5-million to expand its programs to high-school and elementary-school students. University of Waterloo president David Johnston said those programs now reach about 500,000 children in Canada are being expanded to other countries.

Rebecca Pinto, a first-year civil engineering student at Waterloo, was one of those students who took part in the Waterloo programs in high school. Yesterday the 18-year-old lingered outside the auditorium to catch Mr. Gates in a hallway and get his autograph on a $20 bill.

"He's a great role model, a great inspiration," Ms. Pinto said, holding her souvenir.