Google Expands Reach of Arabic Google News

Google launched four new Arabic versions of Google News for Egypt, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates. According to Google, there are over 40 million Arabic-speaking Internet users, so you might say these versions of Google News are long overdue.

"We understand the need to provide our users with the most relevant news for their region," says William Kanaan, Middle East and North Africa Product Manager
Speaking of that, Murdok has announced its intent to acquire Maktoob.com, an Arab portal that reaches one in every three people online in its region. On top of that, Yahoo discussed plans to launch Arabic versions of Yahoo Mail, Messenger, Search, and the Yahoo home page, followed by local versions of its News, Sports, and Finance properties.