Dubai Internet City to be ICT Strategic Sponsor of Gitex Technology Week 2008

In its participation for the eighth consecutive year, along with Google and Intel and two sister entities including SmartCity and eHosting DataFort, Dubai Internet City will showcase its stellar year-on-year growth at its stand in concourse 2, between Exhibition Hall 8 and the Sheikh Maktoum Hall at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.

Dubai First, the first consumer finance company from Dubai Holding, will be a key sponsor of the DIC pavilion.

To be held from 19-23 October at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre, Gitex Technology Week 2008 will see global brands, multinational corporations and technology leaders converging in Dubai for a week of product launches and key industry meetings. There will also be opportunities for networking and building sound partnerships with industry professionals.

Malek Sultan Al Malek, Executive Director of DIC, said:

"The pavilion will reflect our status as a vital technology cluster that has enormously facilitated the transformation of the regional industry. This year, the pavilion will host key business partners including Google and Intel and sister entities Smart City and eHosting DataFort. In addition, DIC willbe staging events that will offer professionals an insight into challenges that face the technology industry."

Daily presentations on the important role of venture capital in the ICT sector will offer attendees valuable insights into the use and benefits of raising private equity. The DIC gaming zone will engage and entertain trade visitors with its cutting edge gizmos and gadgets.

Helal Saeed Almarri, Director General of the Dubai World Trade Centre (DWTC) organiser of Gitex Technology Week, said:

"We are proud to have Dubai Internet City once again to the show. DIC is the major driving force behind the region's ICT industry growth and has helped position the country as leaders in global e-readiness leadership in the MENA region."

Featuring at the DIC pavilion is Intel, the world's largest chip maker who will be present at the stand displaying its latest products and technological solutions. For the first time in the region, Intel will display a prototype of a processor with 80 cores that can perform a trillion floating-point operations per second to demonstrate the tremendous potential for significant performance and energy efficiency for its chip in the near future.

A sister entity under the DIC pavilion is SmartCity, a joint venture promoted by TECOM Investments and Sama Dubai. Based on the successful models of DIC, Dubai Media City and Knowledge Village. SmartCity's industry townships provide an infrastructure, environment and support system to promote the growth of industry companies. SmartCity launched phase I of SmartCity Malta last October and is set to launch phase I of SmartCity Kochi shortly.

In addition, another sister entity, eHosting DataFort (EHDF), the region's leading IT consulting and outsourcing provider and a member of TECOM Investments will showcase its range of services. As part of its efforts to inform the public of the risks and preventative measures companies need to take to protect their data, information security will be a key area that EHDF will focus on at this year's Gitex.

At a time when the UAE's current ICT spend stands at around Dhs41.6bn ($11.4bn), with forecasts indicating a rise to Dhs54bn ($14.8bn) by 2011, the Gitex Technology Week is set to incorporate a powerful offering of dedicated trade events, including Gitex Business Solutions, GULFCOMMS and Consumer Electronics, as well as targeted networking initiatives designed to ensure the event covers the entire technology spectrum.

Last year, over 3,300 suppliers from 82 countries exhibited at the Gitex Technology Week.