www.dawn.com  Fast becoming the commercial hub of the Middle East, Dubai has in the past few years launched several projects to encourage investors and tourists alike.

One noteworthy initiative has been the setting up of 'cities' for institutions with special interests to foster work environments with common ideologies, thereby opening up possibilities for collaboration.

So there is the Media City, the Internet City, the Knowledge Village, the Health City, Humanitarian Aid City, the Festival City, the Sports City, the Logistics City and even a Chess City, where buildings will resemble chess pawns.

This innovative idea is the brainchild of General Sheikh Mohammed Bin Rashid Al Maktoum, the Crown Prince of Dubai and UAE defence minister, whose visionary zeal has turned this small desert oasis into a gleaming chrome and glass economic marvel.

The liberal social milieu, competitive business environment, tax-free conditions and innumerable recreational facilities are incentives that attract expatriate and regional investors. Add to that are architectural plans that promise to turn the desert landscape into a wonderland.

"Dubai is all set to become a regional business hub. It is therefore only right that it attracts global attention through pioneering ideas. These 'cities' are a path-breaking venture and will be hugely successful," said Robert Fischer, a German public relations manager.

The mission of the Media City is to create and market world-class services for the media industry. Aiming to provide infrastructure and environment that will enable media-related enterprises to operate globally out of Dubai, it is the place where every kind of business in the industry will thrive and have the freedom to create.

"The mandate states that it offers us the freedom to grow, to operate, to develop and to express, and that is what it exactly does," said Fischer. At the opening, Sheikh Mohammed said, "Local, pan-Arab and international companies will find great opportunities here for the launching of new projects and the development of pre-existing ones. The infrastructure has been carefully prepared to facilitate participation in the latest methods of digital communication."

"In this place we have laid the foundations of the ideal city, offering integrated services for the media...The infrastructure opens up new horizons, in step with the international electronic media," he added.

Then there is the Healthcare City, which aims to establish a regional gateway for customers and patients to receive world-class healthcare. "The Healthcare City will be the biggest centre for medical and health care on an international level within the area between Europe, the Middle East and Asia," said Saeed Al Muntafiq, the city's board chairman.

Internationally respected institutions in health care delivery, education, services, and research and development have been invited to set up operations here and to take advantage of the synergies brought about by physical proximity, interconnectivity, and professional collaboration.

The Festival City, on the other hand, promises to be a waterfront city with shopping, living, leisure and working opportunities. Stretching four kilometres along the Dubai Creek, it offers an unmatched mix of entertainment, dining and shopping. Among the attractions are over 400 retail outlets, around 100 restaurants, a 600-luxury-room hotel, a waterfront promenade, a golf resort and much more.

Next is the Sports City - set to be the world's first integrated purpose-built recreational city. The two billion dollar city will host the first Manchester United soccer school outside Europe, a golf course, a tennis school, a golf academy and the first global cricket academy. The city would also encourage women's participation in sports in the Gulf region.

The Internet City is a strategic base for companies targeting emerging markets in a vast region extending from the Middle East to the Indian subcontinent, and Africa to the CIS countries.

It offers foreign companies 100 per cent tax-free ownership and repatriation of capital and profits, no currency restrictions, easy registration and licensing, stringent cyber regulations, and protection of intellectual property.

"The global giants are all here: Microsoft, Oracle, HP, IBM, Compaq, Dell, Siemens, Canon, Logica, Sony Ericsson and Cisco, to name just a few. These companies represent a formidable community of over 5,500 knowledge workers," said Sohail Ahmed, an Indian IT manager.

Another unique project is the Chess City that will house the headquarters of the International Chess Association. The project will include 32 buildings, with the two King towers standing at a height of 64 floors, in the design of the traditional black and white chessboard. The whole facility will cover an estimated 64,000 square metres.

President Kirsan Ilumjinov of the Russian Republic of Kalmykia, who is also head of the association, said in a press statement, "We chose the Emirate of Dubai to host this gigantic undertaking, precisely because of Dubai's international reputation as a place where imaginative projects such as the International Chess City can come to life."

Dubai has recently announced plans to set up a Logistics City as well. Not the one to leave education behind, Dubai has set up a Knowledge Village too, where leading academic institutions can set up campuses and educate future generations.