Arabic web prioritised by Microsoft and Google

As the battle for supremacy between Google and Microsoft continues, both companies have set their sights on expanding the Arabic language web.

Google appear to be making the most progress as they are planning brand new initiatives that will enhance content such as news sites and e-commerce in developing countries.

Despite a rapid growth in internet usage in the Arab world since the turn of the century the level of Arab language content is still surprisingly low.

Arab speakers make up 5% of the worlds population but the Arab language accounts for less than 1% of the web but this has been mainly down to high access costs in the region which are now beginning to fall triggering this interest from Google and Microsoft.

Google have announced their intent as they look to create more structured Arab content on the web. They are prioritising the growth of e-commerce in the region and are planning to help create more news sites and publishers according to regional marketing manager Wael Ghonim.

Exact plans were not revealed by Google but they did say that they have an ambitious plan for the next few months that should help push forward the growth of the Arabic web.

Microsoft have also placed Arab language web at the top of their priority list (along with making sure Google does not out do them). They have not made as much progress as Google as of yet but they claim that it has been in their plans for some time and they will be making advancements soon. With the backing of these two internet giants the Arab web is sure to experience a major and well needed growth by the end of the year at the very least.

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