HIGH-TECH VILLAGE: President Hosni Mubarak inaugurated the first phase of a massive Information Technology (IT) project, located near the Cairo- Alexandria Desert Road, on Sunday. Mubarak said that the Smart Village will facilitate Egypt's economic progress, and is in step with world advances in technology. "This is important for the coming generations because we must always stay in step with world advancements," he told reporters.

Previous plans had aimed to create a "silicon valley" in Sinai, but the vision changed in 1999, with the 450-feddan, LE2 billion Smart Village now representing the culmination of Egypt's future IT hopes.

Minister of Communications and Information Technology Ahmed Nazif described the Smart Village as a comprehensive IT project, which focusses on both communications, and technology investments, and will provide 30,000 job opportunities. "This aims to promote a modern image of Egypt which is attractive to investors and IT development," said Nazif.

During the tour, Mubarak also listened to an electronic message from Microsoft Chairman Bill Gates who congratulated the president on the implementation of the project. Gates referred to Egypt's great IT potential and said that Microsoft investments in Egypt were steadily increasing. Microsoft's chief hoped that the Smart Village project would become one of the leading technology projects in the Middle East.

On the same day, Mubarak also inaugurated the Sheikh Zayed Specialised Hospital in 6th of October City. The Abu Dhabi Development Fund provided $32 million for that project, while the Egyptian government paid LE20 million.