During this week, 73 ambassadors from across the region will be trained on Google products, developer’s tools and be provided with an overview of Google’s university programs.

Googlers from around the world will provide training to the ambassadors. Providing insight into the world of Google and its strategy will be Mohammad Gawdat, Google Managing Director Emerging Markets, and Ari Kesisoglu, Google Managing Director MENA.

Travelling from Zurich, Ahmed Hamzawi, Head of Engineering – Google MENA, and Abdel Karim Mardini, Head of Product – Google MENA, will provide student ambassadors with in-depth knowledge about a variety of Google services, specifically those related to academia. The Ambassadors will represent Google on their respective campuses and serve tenure of one academic year.

Notes and media contacts
For more Media Enquiries, please contact:

Trans – Arabian Creative Communications (TRACCS)
Mona Seif
28 Wadi El Nile Street / Floor 1, Suite 2 / Mohandiseen, Cairo, Egypt
Tel: +20.23.304.6860/ +20.23.304.6870
Fax: +20.23.303.1219

The study which monitored Dubai’s online mentions vis a vis Singapore and Hong Kong showed that while Singapore continued to enjoy the highest number of mentions, Dubai had overtaken Hong Kong in online forums and social networks, and was bridging the gap in news, blogs, comments and reviews.

The Mediastow study also revealed that the media’s negative coverage of Dubai following the property meltdown was being gradually replaced by more favourable comments in cyberspace.

Mo Elzubeir, CEO and Founder, Mediastow added: “Dubai got 60,333 mentions in global online news last month (May, 2011) against 78,806 for Hong Kong and 94,643 for Singapore. Regardless of the favorable share of voice of these mentions, they indicate that the negative sentiment over Dubai in the international media has subsided both in intensity and numbers.”

Elzubeir added that the figures did not include the Chinese word for Dubai or Singapore or Hong Kong. In other words, it did not reflect majorly the Chinese online media. However, a separate study mentioning the Chinese key word for Dubai and the two other countries was conducted alongside.

According to the report, Dubai was mentioned 37,293 times in global blogs, compared to 66,956 in the case of Hong Kong and 79,463 for Singapore in May 2011.

Elzubeir added: “For global bloggers to mention Dubai that many times, it indicates that the Emirate can be counted among cities with a global standing and sphere of influence thus enhancing its competitiveness.”

The study also showed that Singapore got 12,920 mentions in forums, compared to 6,996 times for Hong Kong and 7,939 times for Dubai. This shows that Dubai surpassed Hong Kong in the number of mentions in online forums in May.

Elzubeir said: “In addition to news, blogs and forums, other parameters in the study were Comments, Knowledge Markets, Wiki, Social Network, Classified, Review and Social Photo.”

Elzubeir added: “The results demonstrate that Dubai is still a city that allures the Western world when it comes to shopping, tourism, trade, IT and hospitality. It will continue to get increased mentions in online media as it is the most influential city in the Arab world. With the majority of multinational companies using the city as a springboard to access the MENA region, Dubai will continue to take an impressive share in global media and enjoy the most favourable share of voice compared to the whole region.”

“There were a lot of rumours and distortions about Dubai’s financial position from the global perspective. There were stories that implied that Dubai’s dream of becoming a key global city was over. This counter measures adopted by Dubai’s media machine apparently yielded fruit, and the emirate has succeeded in setting the record straight with least perceptual damage,” he concluded.

Notes and media contacts
For more details:
Virtue PR & Marketing Communications
P.O. Box 191931, Dubai, U.A.E.
Tel: +9714 4508835
Fax:+9714 4508836

By launching this service cashU is now the region first prepaid online payment method that offer its customers the opportunity of paying the cost of booking airline tickets online using a safe and secure payment gateway.

Commenting on this news Martin Waldenstrom, CEO of cashU, said: “In line with our commitment to offer new services to our users, especially in new industries such as online booking, we are happy to announce our partnership with selfbilet.com and offer our users the opportunity to book their flight tickets online and pay using cashU and as a second phase our users will be able to book hotels and rent cars online from selfbilet.com and pay using cashU”.

“By adding cashU as a payment method in selfbilet.com we managed to integrate cashU gateway successfully into their Amadeus system which gives the possibility of other airlines and/or travel agencies to add cashU as payment method easily and in the near future we will announce the launching of many similar services”. Mr. Waldenstrom concluded.

Celebrating the launch of this new service, cashU have announced that they will be launching a weekly sweepstake competition in which they will be rewarding a number of their users with free tickets to Istanbul to spend a summer vacation that cashU promised will be unforgettable.

About cashU
www.cashu.com
cashU is a Payment Service Provider with a focus on internet payments in Middle East and North Africa. Our head office is in Dubai, from where we serve global and regional online merchants with a complete suite of payment solutions custom built to cater for local culture and the Arabic online buying habits and trends.

cashU was established in 2002 and our management team is the region’s most experienced online payment experts with a solid background from regional and international banking, credit card processing, alternative payment solutions and online monetization and marketing industries.

cashU today serves online shoppers in all Arabic speaking and surrounding countries with secure, accessible and easy to use payment solutions, giving everyone the possibility to buy online without discriminating on age, income, nationality or banking contacts.

cashU is a payment platform that is built upon, and encapsulates the most sophisticated and up to date fraud prevention and AML systems reducing the risks associated with online payments for both buyers and sellers which all allows for wider, safer and faster consumer participation in e-commerce.

According to Shadab Rashid, its founder and CEO, “We want to make sure that everyone has a grand time using our website, and they get more than just the typical everyday deals.”

Deal in City is already offering its services to three key areas in the UAE, namely, Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah. It has expanded its deals to include e-commerce solutions. Its recent deal involves website design and e-commerce application courtesy of world-renowned Ameriteck Web Services at 70% off the regular price.

DIC’s website has also improved its privacy policy and terms and conditions to ensure that everyone is well protected in using the system.

DIC has set up social media accounts, such as Twitter, Facebook, and even LinkedIn. You can also subscribe to their newsletters and receive regular updates straight to your e-mail.

Setting up your own account in Deal in City is easier. It’s completely free, and you’re allowed to keep track of all your purchased deals in one go.

Vouchers can already be transferred to friends and family as gifts.

DIC provides you with plenty of payment options, from Moneybookers to Paypal, as well as credit cards, debit cards, and even cash on delivery.

In order to encourage people to take advantage of their deals and increase their visitors, DIC has come up with a rewards program. Just by signing up, you can already get 200 points. 400 points for successful referral purchase, 20 for referral registration, 10 for subscription, and an incredible full purchase points.

So the more points you accumulate, the more you save from your coupons. By September DIC is giving away their first batch of reward cards, which will give you an extra 5% off from the regular price and exclusive premium benefits.

DIC has also prepared additional special for the kids. If you are going to purchase any upcoming summer camp offers, you can look forward to free gifts.

In spite of this wealth of benefits, DIC is still cooking up few more improvements. In fact, some of the deals in the coming days include Brazilian keratin, summer camps, spa deals, brunch offers, and adventure deals.

Notes and media contacts
Contact:

Deal In City LLC (HQ)
Dubai
Tel: +971 558865257

OneCard played an instrumental part in developing the internet for the Arab communities worldwide; it is not only one of the most comprehensive online payment solution but it is also a tool that empowers users to shop and buy internet connectivity, fixed and mobile communication services, stock market solutions, educational resources and much more.

Kaspersky Anti-Virus was the first to develop many technological standards in the antivirus industry, including full-scale solutions for Linux, Unix and NetWare, a new-generation heuristic analyzer designed to detect newly emerging viruses, effective protection against polymorphic and macro viruses, continuously updated antivirus databases and a technique for detecting viruses in archived files.

Commenting on this partnership, Tarek Kuzbari Managing Director, Middle East and Turkey at Kaspersky Lab said, “Kaspersky Anti-Virus is one of the fastest growing IT security companies worldwide, and for us to be able to maintain and improve our market position, it has become imperative that we follow the fast moving trend of online shopping in the Middle East”.

“This partnership compliments our overall growth strategy, and we are confident that it will help us target a wider group of internet savvy customers, which will lead to support our consistent growth in the region”, continued Kuzbari.

OneCard Company offers its services in 19 countries around the world and is a subsidiary of National Net Ventures (N2V) affiliated with the National Technology Group (NTG), the largest company in the field of information technology and telecommunications in the Middle East. This provides OneCard with technical and marketing expertise, which entitles it to hold a leading role in providing e-commerce tools.

• Regional market set to mature with entry of world-leading local commerce brand

The deal is the first large-scale acquisition of an e-commerce company in the Middle East and signals further market maturity as one of the world’s leading local commerce brands enters the region. Under the new agreement, GoNabit will become a LivingSocial company.

Approached by several international group-buying players, GoNabit chose to partner with LivingSocial because of a clear alignment with the company’s vision and values.

With a shared mission to create exciting and affordable experiences for members and valuable new marketing opportunities for merchant partners, GoNabit says the acquisition enables them to better serve their stakeholders and continue to pioneer e-commerce in the Middle East.

“GoNabit’s acquisition by LivingSocial is a milestone in the development of e-commerce in the Middle East. E-commerce is in its infancy in this region and the entry of prominent global player LivingSocial signals the next phase of the industry’s development here,” said Dan Stuart, CEO and Co-founder, GoNabit.com.

“Our acquisition by LivingSocial has really strengthened our ability and resolve to continue being the best group-buying website in the region. Both Dan Stuart and I will remain in our respective roles for the foreseeable future and all GoNabit staff have been retained,” added Sohrab Jahanbani, Chief Operating Officer and Co-founder, GoNabit.com.

“As with previous acquisitions, LivingSocial has again chosen to align with a local company that possesses similar values and ways of doing business. We are excited to enter the dynamic Middle East market and further strengthen our strategic global efforts to bring LivingSocial values to members across the globe,” said Tim O’Shaughnessy, CEO and co-founder, LivingSocial.

GoNabit was co-founded by Dan Stuart and Sohrab Jahanbani in January 2010, with investment and support from Bayt.com, the Middle East’s leading job site.

Speaking about the acquisition, Akram Assaf, Chief Technology Officer of Bayt.com said, “I extend my congratulations to the truly dedicated GoNabit team for their success story. We at Bayt.com are proud to have been a part of a business that allows people to live their lifestyle of choice and we are eager to be involved in more innovative ventures in the future.”

Headquartered in Dubai, with local offices in all its markets – Abu Dhabi, Beirut, Amman and Cairo – the company has recently announced popular new deal verticals catering to specific interests. Dubai Family, dedicated to providing fun deals suitable for children and parents alike, and the pan-city GoNabit Getaways website which offers exciting holiday deals and travel packages are both enjoying a growing popularity. In addition to being the first group-buying website in the Middle East, GoNabit is the first company of its kind to offer deals in Arabic. Members in Abu Dhabi, Amman, Dubai, Beirut, Cairo and Sharjah, Ras Al Khaimah and Ajman have saved more than $5m in the past year.

LivingSocial also announced its launch in The Netherlands; the acquisition of Ensogo, a leading daily deal website in the Philippines and Thailand; and DealKeren, an Ensogo company based in Indonesia. Along with the GoNabit deal, these two new acquisitions and the Netherlands launch bring the total number of countries in which LivingSocial operates to 21. The company’s reach now spans six of the seven continents.

Terms of the deals were not released.

Notes and media contacts
Contacts:
Eleanor Lonergan
00971 50 103 3161

LivingSocial Media Hotline
1-855-LIV-SOCL (1-855-548-7625)

Shoppers can continue to save and discover on www.gonabit.com.

About LivingSocial LivingSocial adds surprise to every calendar with handpicked daily deals you can share with friends. Members enjoy at least 50% off on the coolest, local experiences. Local business owners get an easy and cost effective marketing tool to attract new, loyal customers. In 2010, one of the fastest growing companies in the space expanded with LivingSocial Escapes offering easy weekend trips at great value. In April, LivingSocial has unveiled Instant Deals – real-time, mobile offerings delivered via members smart phones featuring deals within .5 miles of their location. Based in Washington, DC, the international brand and has saved nearly 30 million subscribers more than half a billion dollars in 21 countries on 6 continents.

About GoNabitGoNabit is an online marketing company that uses the power of social commerce to nab unbeatable discounts of between 50-90 per cent on things to see, eat and do in the cities in which it operates. It was the first group buying website to launch in the Middle East and offers businesses a risk-free customer-creation engine. GoNabit was founded in 2010 by experienced entrepreneurs Dan Stuart and Sohrab Jahanbani and is majority-owned and supported by Bayt.com, the number one job site in the Middle East. GoNabit has the highest level of Verisign’s SSL encryption and is also the first company in the UAE to have its database management verified by TRUSTe.

Each day subscribers to GoNabit get the opportunity to purchase an unbeatable deal on something cool to do in their city. To successfully “nab” the deal, it must first tip – the point at which a minimum agreed number of purchasers opts into buying the deal. Once the tipping point is achieved and the deal goes live, any GoNabit subscriber can purchase it. The deal is available for 24 to 48 hours, or 72 hours for weekend deals.

For more information visit: www.gonabit.com

The website has already made great strides in a number of regional markets, with Dubizzle.com currently welcoming over one and a half million unique visitors a month and more than 70 million page views from across the Middle East and North Africa.

Since its unveiling earlier this year, visitor traffic to Dubizzle.com Kuwait has been increasing by over 60% and 400,000 page views monthly. As local consumers choose to go online to buy, sell, and find things within their community, Dubizzle.com has built its reputation in Kuwait by offering all its services free to the end-user, with individuals never having to pay to sell items or to respond to listings. Over 2,000 listings from Kuwait were added to the site in May alone, both from individual users as well as leading real estate, automotive and recruitment groups.

Broadening its offerings across devices and digital platforms, the company has revealed plans to launch a mobile version of its website, giving consumers in Kuwait the ability to easily access Dubizzle.com services from their mobile devices while on the go. A beta version is currently available in English, with the company planning to develop mobile platforms in Arabic and French later this year. Smart phone apps for Apple and Android devices are also said to be in development.

“The Middle East’s online marketplace is a bustling forum where consumers are eager to stay connected when and where it suits them best,” says J.C. Butler, who along with business partner Sim Whatley co-founded Dubizzle.com after moving to the region in 2005. “We’re very proud of the way Dubizzle.com has grown in the last few years, and Kuwait is a country where we see a lot of opportunity for people who are interested in doing business online.”

Notes and media contacts
About Dubizzle.com:Dubizzle is a leading free classifieds and community website for users in the Middle East and North Africa. Since its launch in 2005, Dubizzle has become the number one portal for users to buy, sell, or find anything in their community. Dubizzle is headquartered in the UAE, and is available in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. Dubizzle is accessed by over 1.5 million unique visitors with more than 70 million page views on a monthly basis. For more information and to access the website, please visit www.dubizzle.com.

Media contacts:

Hassan Al Shouli
Dubizzle.com
Tel: +9714-4279779

Daniel Mercado
Memac Ogilvy & Mather
Tel: +9714-3050320

After launching its Egypt portal in October 2010, strategic business alliances—as well as pioneering technical innovations—have kept Dubizzle.com at the forefront of Egypt’s burgeoning online marketplace. Catering to Greater Cairo and Alexandria including the North Coast areas, the current website hosts an extensive classifieds section with local properties for rent/sale, job opportunities, a wide range of automotive listings, and a variety of other useful and interactive pages—all accessible in English, Arabic and French.

Reports also show that the number of people visiting Dubizzle.com’s Egypt portal has grown exponentially to more than one million page views on a monthly basis. More than 13,000 classified listings have been uploaded from individual users as well as leading real estate, automotive and recruitment companies since the site’s launch.

“The Middle East’s online marketplace is a bustling forum where consumers are eager to stay connected when and where it suits them best,” says Sim Whatley, who along with business partner J.C. Butler co-founded Dubizzle.com after moving to the region in 2005. “The sheer size of the Egyptian market presents people with an enormous selection of pre-owned and brand new consumer products and services. We believe that utilizing the power of the web can make it easier and more efficient for people to do business within their own community, creating value for both buyers and sellers.”

This summer, Dubizzle.com broadened its offerings across digital platforms as it launched a mobile version of the website, giving consumers in Egypt the ability to easily access its services from any mobile device while on the go. A beta version of the mobile site is currently accessible from all smartphones with an internet connection. Initially available in English, the company plans to develop Arabic and French versions of the mobile platform later this year, as well as smartphone apps for various mobile devices.

According to Butler, part of what has attracted people to Dubizzle.com is the ability of individuals to share their own content quickly and safely with thousands of potential buyers. “From cars to furniture, we have created an open market in which people can now see real financial returns for their second-hand items,” notes Butler. “We are very proud of the way Dubizzle.com has grown in Egypt and that we have been able to offer a service that helps people do business in a way that fits their online lifestyle.”

Dubizzle.com will be showcasing its services and highlighted listings to the public at this year’s Korba Festival, taking place July 1.

Butler and Sim Whatley.

Notes and media contacts
About Dubizzle.comDubizzle.com is a leading free classifieds and community website for users in the Middle East and North Africa. Since its launch in 2005, Dubizzle.com has become the number one portal for users to buy, sell, or find anything in their community. Dubizzle.com is headquartered in the UAE, and is available in Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Tunisia, and the United Arab Emirates. Dubizzle.com is accessed by over 1.5 million unique visitors with more than 70 million page views on a monthly basis.

Media contact:
Carol Menaw
PR Executive
Memac Ogilvy& Mather
Tel: (202) 37480202-156
Fax: (202) 37487236

To this end, the TRA would like to commend the initiative of the Ministry of Education in enhancing the role of the Arabic domain name by launching the domain (DarajatiDotEmarat)which will facilitate and enable students and their parents to check the examination results online using their own language.

Commenting on the initiative, H.E. Muhammad Nasser Al Ghanim, TRA Director General said: “We are pleased for the recent domain (DarajatiDotEmarat) initiative launched by the Ministry of Education. The new initiative aims at creating ease in checking examination results by students and their parents by using their mother tongue. This is considered an important step in enhancing the role of Arabic domain names within the internet in the UAE. The TRA would like to express its readiness to provide all required support to students, and to the education sector in all fields related to the ICT sector, which comes in-line with the social contributions and responsibilities of the TRA towards the UAE society.”

Al Ghanim adds: “It is a great privilege and honor to see governmental organizations adopt Arabic domain names in the UAE. Such a move indicatesthat the initiative launched by the TRA has reached to operational and deployment levels, that qualify it to achieve its main goals manifested in using Arabic language in e-addresses, in order to allow a bigger segment of users who were deprived of using the benefits of the cyber space due to the language barrier. We in the TRA call upon all other governmental organizations and private sectors companies to adopt the same approach of using Arabic domain names.”

The dotEmarat has marked a new unprecedented achievement for ICT on a regional level in introducing Arabic language for Internet domain names and the fact that the UAE is one of the four countries in the world to obtain approval from ICANN. The TRA continuously promotes the approach of using Arabic domain names through awareness campaigns and encouraging the use of such by the government sector and private companies due to the great benefits in marketing their brand names and products.

The Arabicdomain (dotEmarat) has recently finished the registration phase for governmental sectorentities and trademarks owners. The TRA extended the registration of the (dotEmarat) sunrise periodlast January, which was opened earlier, for a further six months in order to give trademark owners, greater opportunity to take advantage of the unique offer. The registration for the trademark owners was concluded on 31st May 2011. It will launch next month, through its authorized registrars, the phase for individual registration which will enable a wider spectrum to benefit from this feature.

The Wataniya blog is the first telecom blog in Kuwait. It’s a new channel which will cater to the growing online community. It will give Wataniya customers an opportunity to express their views, share ideas and receive updates about the latest offers.

Furthermore the blog will provide online viewers with an alternative commentary on developments within the organization, along with interesting insights from the mobile market and offer tips for optimizing their phone experience. Wataniya will simultaneously continue to remain active on other networking channels such as Facebook, Twitter and You Tube through which it aims to consistently receive feedback from customers and stay in touch with the general trends and preferences of the market.

“Social media has the power to change people’s perceptions about a brand and more importantly helps us to measure the level of success for each product and service. Wataniya found that customers tend to recommend the brand to others through frequent online interactions; and by being actively present online via our blog and other networking forums, we can give our customers a chance to instantly share their opinions with us as well.” said Riham Al Ayyar, Senior Brand and Communications Director of Wataniya Telecom.

“In 2011, we decided to focus on customer experience by investing in resources that will help us understand the expectations and lifestyles of our diverse customer base. Based on extensive research we recognize and value the impact of social media on the world today. In order to stay up-to-date with our customers, we need to constantly enhance our approach to match the needs and trends in the market. Now through our new blog, we can guarantee our customers a more personalized interaction and a transparent communication channel at their convenience.” Al Ayyar added.

Wataniya Telecom is a pioneer that continues to satisfy its customers through innovative and modern tools. By giving people so many different online channels of communication, Wataniya has taken another step towards building a stronger foundation of trust and loyalty amongst its customers.

Notes and media contacts
Wataniya’s ProfileWataniya Telecom was commercially launched in 1999 as the first privately owned operator in Kuwait. National Mobile Telecommunications Company (NMTC) trading under the brand name Wataniya Telecom is listed in the Kuwait Stock Exchange and has operations in 6 countries including Maldives, Saudi Arabia, Tunisia, Algeria and Palestine. Qatar Telecom (Qtel) owns 52.5% of Wataniya Telecom.

Wataniya is a customer-driven company that aims to provide product and service excellence. Over the past 10 years Wataniya has risen to be the second largest operator in one of the most competitive markets, and continues offering a wide range of prepaid and postpaid mobile voice and internet services to both individual and corporate customers.

Wataniya has built its reputation on offering innovative services, maintaining excellent network quality and delivering outstanding customer experience. These three pillars remain the basis of Wataniya’s strategy as it continues to solidify its strong market position.

Qatar Telecom
Qatar Telecom (Qtel) provides both fixed and mobile telecommunications services in the state of Qatar. We have a presence in 17 countries and we are committed to expansion both in the MENA region and South East Asia. Our vision is to be among the top 20 telecommunications companies in the world by 2020.

For further information please contact:
Abdolaziz Al-Balool
Public Relations Manager, Wataniya Telecom
Tel: 66366644