Snowy protests fail to rock businessmen on a roll

DAVOS, Switzerland, Jan 27 (Reuters) Up on one street, trendy-suited billionaires and politicians schmooze away the world's problems.

Down the hill, away from the razzmatazz, a motley band of some 200 anti-World Economic Forum protesters try to make themselves heard -- with little success.

''The WEF has a lot of public space that we don't have,'' said student Catarina Zweidler. ''One of my friends got checked three times yesterday. He looks a bit alternative, and he was taken out of the train.'' Once a magnet for anti-globalization protests, the streets of Davos have been quiet at recent WEF meetings as police sealed off the ski resort from potential troublemakers.

Swiss authorities close roads, inspect delegates' passes and check trains coming to the ski resort, which claims to be the highest town in Europe at more than 1,500 metres above sea level.

Police said today's demonstration, staged in temperatures around minus 8 degrees Celsius, was peaceful with just some minor damage.

Some protesters threw snowballs or blew whistles; others dressed as clowns or in Guantanamo-esque orange jumpsuits. Many carried banners, with slogans such as World Exploit Forum.

One group was protesting against the election of Mexican President Felipe Calderon, one of more than 2,000 political and business leaders attending the WEF's annual meeting.

Police in riot gear blocked off the main WEF venue from protesters, who then moved around the perimeter and threw snowballs over the six-feet high fence around the conference centre.

Protest organisers were satisfied with the turnout but disappointed not to make more of a hit.

''For what the situation was, it was good,'' said organiser David Boehner. ''It would be nice to have a bigger impact.'' REUTERS SY ND2358