King Abdullah's initiative to develop Arabic content online has contributed to a fourfold increase, from 0.3 percent in early 2008 to 1.2 percent by the end of 2010, according to an annual report released by King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology (KACST). The initiative targeted a number of digital innovations like the Arabic search engine Naba, the systems-engineering program Mutah and the Wikipedia Arabic website, which now contains important scientific and technical articles translated from Wikipedia English. The organization developed Naba and added to it a translation system as part of its efforts to serve Arab Internet users, the report said. KACST is working with a number of domestic and foreign organizations to enrich Arabic content online, it added. Saudi Arabia is investing about SR75 billion in information technology including several research and applied fields that provide ample opportunities for the country to advance and develop into a knowledge-based economy. In the Kingdom, several vital sectors such as finance, health care, education and communication depend on information technology, the report said.
