du Sponsors Five Media Centres for Region’s Top Sports Event Abu Dhabi: 15th January 2007 – Under the patronage of His Excellency Sheikh Hamdan bin Mubarak Al Nahyan, UAE Minister of Public Works and President of the Gulf Cup Higher Organising Committee, and in the presence of His Excellency AbdulRahman Bin Mohammad Al Owais, UAE Minister Of Culture, Youth and Community Development and Vice President of the Higher Organising Committee, and Osman Sultan, CEO of du, the main du media centre located at the Armed Forces Officers’ Club in Abu Dhabi today was officially opened to serve the media delegates covering the 18th Arabian Gulf Cup 2007.  The dignitaries attended the opening ceremony and reviewed the services provided to journalists by the du media centre, ahead of the region’s premier sports event that kicks off on 17 January. du, the new telecom provider in the UAE, is sponsoring five media centres at the Gulf Cup including the Armed Forces Officers Club, Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Al Nahyan Stadium, Zayed City Sports Stadium and Millennium Hotel. “The media centres present an innovative mix of technology and creativity in line with du’s commitment to ‘Add Life to Sports’, which is inspired by our slogan ‘Add Life to Life’,” said Sultan.  “In practical terms, the centres provide attending media with the opportunity to not only work more efficiently and comfortably but also to have fun at the matches.” A first of their kind in Abu Dhabi, the media centres will feature a custom designed portal.  Designed and managed by du, the portal provides comprehensive information on all the football teams, match schedules and press releases.  “The 18th Arabian Gulf Cup is organised to international standards and it was important that we also set the benchmark for effective media centres,” said Mohammed Al Mahmoud, Chairman of the Media Committee for the 18th Arabian Gulf Cup 2007. “Our media centers will provide 50 desktops, 50 laptops, 7 fax machines, 10 mobile battery charging units, plasma screens in the officers club and 9 seamless plasmas for the lounge area. We are working closely with du and with our PR & Advertising agency, Viola, who will be managing the media centres, to make this a memorable experience for all the journalists attending.” du's media centre at the Armed Forces Officers Club will also include a hi-tech lounge designed to “de-stress” the media with plasma TVs broadcasting live coverage of the Gulf Cup and customised programmes, play station gaming consoles and a host of other recreational activities.