Nimble builders are kept busy fashioning palms and worlds out of the sea, adding one storey every three days to the Burj Dubai tower expected to peak at 900 metres and making a start on the 32 skyscrapers each resembling a chess piece in International Chess City. It's fair to say that Dubai's development is on a steep upward curve.

Mover and Sheiker Mohammed aims for 15 million international visitors by 2010 and with an already burgeoning expat population working for MNCs enticed by Dubai’s zero tax environment, not to mention a colossal number of staff needing somewhere to rest their heads after a hard days’ work at the many entertainment and sporting attractions, the property market is battling to keep apace.