Pakistan Daily Times -- Research commissioned from Dubai-based Internet researcher Madar shows the number of Arabic Internet users could jump to 43 million in 2008 from 16 million in 2004. According to Madar, 65 percent of Arab Internet users in 2005 could not read English, which accounts for 70 percent of the material on the Internet.
Better Arabic search engines are key to creating an incentive for content owners to put more Arabic content on the Internet. And more Internet content and better Arabic language search engines is guaranteed to fuel a sharp increase in online advertising in the Arab markets. Petrolium rich Saudi Arabia, with an affluent population of 24 million, and Dubai in the United Arab Emirates would be key places for winning online advertising to fuel Arabic search engines. The new Arabic language Sawafi search engine planned to launch at the end of 2006 could give the search giants -- Google, MSN and Yahoo -- a run for their money in the chase for the ever-growing Arabic online advertising market. The major search engines offer a limited Arabic search facility at present.
The Arabic online advertising market could grow to $150 million in 2008 from $10 million at present, according to some sources.
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