Dubai Internet City (DIC) has won the Foreign Direct Investment magazine's prestigious "Middle East Special Economic Zone of the Future" Award for 2006-7, reinforcing its position as an emerging global ICT hub.

The magazine is published by Financial Times Business, the specialist publishing arm of the FT Group.

Dubai Internet City is managed by Tecom Investments, which has signed a deal with the Maltese government to set up SmartCity in Ricasoli on the same model.

DIC was selected after an eminent judging panel evaluated over 100 entries to discover the best free zones in the region.

Jamal Abdulsalam, executive director, said: "The title of 'The Middle Eastern Special Economic Zone of the Future' is a recognition of Dubai Internet City's growing profile as a global hub for the ICT industry.

"Over the last six years, the largest and best ICT companies with a stake in the region have gravitated to Dubai Internet City making it a vibrant industry hub and a powerful force for technology development. The award is also a tribute to Dubai's strategic vision of ICT as a key driver of economic diversification."

DIC recently touched the mark of 900 companies, making it one of the largest managed clusters of information and communications technology (ICT) companies in the world.

The ICT hub of the region, which is celebrating its sixth anniversary, has grown at an average annual growth rate of 53 per cent in the number of its business partners since its launch in 2000.

Apart from the overall award, Dubai Internet City also won the top ranking in the Science-Hi-Tech category.

The judging panel used a wide range of criteria to evaluate the entries for the awards. They included growth, infrastructure, cost-effectiveness, strength of leading investors, number of businesses, presence of high-growth industries, expansion plans, business-support facilities, tax exemptions and financial incentives.