GITEX 2003, the 23rd edition of the show, is set to attract 26 percent more exhibitors than last year's 660 and 14 percent more companies than the 2002 figure of 1,520, the Dubai World Trade Center (DWTC), which organizes the event, said in a statement Wednesday.

Telecommunications, computing, communications systems and applications, networking and Internet technologies will all be featured in the show running from October 19-23, the statement said.

"GITEX has risen in stature and played an important role towards the all-encompassing vision of his highness Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum (Dubai's crown prince) of converting the emirate into the Silicon Valley of the Middle East," said DWTC's director general Mubarak bin Fahd.

Organisers said this year's show will feature pavillions from 19 countries, up 20 percent from last year, with a new concourse linking all exhibition halls and added parking facilities and e-access gates.

Dubai, one of the seven members of the United Arab Emirates, has blazed the way forward for IT in the Middle East, setting up Dubai Internet City and engaging in numerous lavish projects in a bid to become the region's e-capital.

SPACE.WIRE