MUSCAT— It’s time to revamp those sites again, as the much-awaited Web Awards is launched for 2007 under the auspices of Information Technology Authority (ITA). Instituted in 2005 in association with Pan Arab Web Awards, Oman Web Awards (OWA) strives to recognise excellence in web design and to promote development of skills among the local community. In its third year, the Oman Web Awards is presented by Advanced Business Solutions, supported by Business Software Alliance and hosted by SJS Group in Oman.

Being the only web award at national level, the main objective of the OWA is to promote the spirit of innovation and creativity, raise the standards of web based solutions, advocate development of local talent, promote intellectual property awareness and encourage all sectors to become involved in the fast growing digital economy of Oman.

Dr Salim Al Ruzaiqi, CEO of ITA opined on the award: “ITA, being the apex government body for IT in the Sultanate we are committed to supporting the ICT oriented events in Oman. We believe that the event spurs activity in the digital world which in turn strengthens the eOman initiatives of ITA in transforming Oman as a knowledge-based economy by offering improved services to the society at various levels. Therefore we consider that OWA can generate the spirit of excellence in the citizens of Oman to work for a better society leveraging IT and we would encourage all entities to participate in this event and wish them all success for winning it.”

Participating in the OWA helps to validate the customer’s increased confidence in the organisation and its services. The winners will qualify for the Pan Arab Web Awards 2008, where web award winners of Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE will compete. Apart from the awards for the Best Website and Web Company of the year, there are 22 categories with winners in gold, silver and bronze respectively. The categories in the competition are, Art and Culture, Automotive, Banking and Finance, Corporate, Education, Forums, Hospitality, FMCG, Health Services, Malls/Supermarkets, Real Estate, Software and Telecommunication/ICT, NGO/NPO, E-commerce, Travel and Tourism, Oil & Gas, Media/Media Services and Event Management, Ministries/Government Organisations,

Engineering/Manufacturing Industry, Sports, Services and Personal websites. Sponsorship is open in all the above categories.

In the words of Ali Jaffer Al Bahrani, chairman of Oman Web Awards and managing director of ABS, “Awarding the design and development of websites, the primary mission of ABS is to encourage individuals, organisations and businesses to make the best use of the internet and World Wide Web technology; at the same time adding character, mood and a theme based upon the content of the particular website requirement.”

The newly constituted Web Designer of the Year Award is to recognise the web designing companies for their efforts. The grand award ceremony is scheduled to take place early 2008 in Muscat.

For more details and registrations, log on to www.omanwebawards.org or call 99266537/99822501/95223963.