Araby.com goes official

"Ever since Araby.com was first launched, we have constantly striven to optimize and improve our services based on user feedback and we are now more confident than ever that the website can be launched as an official one," said Samih Toukan, Maktoob Group CEO.

"This does not, however, mean that we will stop enhancing our services on the website. Araby.com functions in the Web 2.0 era and this entails a process of listening to our users and continually making improvements on existing features or where necessary, introducing new services," he added.

The official launch of Araby.com also marks the introduction of a new homepage that is fresher and more user-friendly; the new interface has received an overwhelming positive response from users.

During the first few months of its inception, some users pointed out that the pages of Araby.com were relatively slow to load and that it sometimes contained irrelevant search results. However, Araby.com has, over the past few months, incorporated advanced techniques that have resulted in the enhancement of its search capabilities, allowing it to deliver more relevant results at a much quicker pace.

Another advance is the Araby.com dictionary which was launched recently in its beta version. The dictionary, featuring an auto-completion option, will be capable of providing users with the meanings of both Arabic and English words. In addition, it can also provide users with synonyms of chosen words. The auto-completion option will allow users to choose from a list that will appear as each alphabet of the word is typed into the dictionary. Another feature is under development that will soon see the dictionary tied up with an automatic translation service.

Commenting on the launch of the dictionary, Toukan said "We have continuously been receiving feedback from our users requesting a powerful bilingual dictionary, and inline with our commitment, the dictionary was launched, leading the way to a seamless and comprehensive service that fulfils our user's needs."

It is worth noting that although Araby.com is relatively new, it walked away with two prestigious awards; 'The Best Arabic Website' and the silver award in the 'Directories and Info Services' category at the Pan Arab Web Awards held in Dubai on April 19th 2007.