RIYADH, 8 May — The number of Internet users in the Kingdom is expected to double to half a million soon and that the Internet boom could open up job opportunities for women.

This was stated at a press conference by Dr. Saleh Al-Athel, president of King Abdul Aziz City for Science and Technology, who inaugurated today the e-commerce Saudi Arabia 2001 exhibition that saw the launch of several business-to-consumer and business-to-business solutions.

The exhibition, being held at the Riyadh Exhibition Center, has attracted the giants of the IT industry. Dr. Al-Athel, accompanied by senior KACST executives Dr. Abdullah Al-Rasheed, Dr. Muhammad Al-Suwaiyel and Dr. Fahd Al-Hoymany, went round the exhibition that features the products and services from 30 internationally renowned countries from the West, East and the Middle East.

Meanwhile, Saudi Research and Publishing Co., a major sponsor of the e-commerce conference-cum-exhibition, has announced that it is hosting a luncheon conference at Riyadh Intercontinental Hotel in the Buraidah Hall. All the participants have been invited.

In reply to a question, the KACST president said e-commerce regulations would be out in two weeks. The main feature of the regulations would be the security aspect, or the PKI (Public Key Infrastructure) in which KACST is involved. This would ensure that online transactions are conducted in an environment of security and confidentiality.

A cross-section of the visitors to and participants in the exhibition told Arab News about the measures they have in place for developing websites for e-commerce purposes. Hussein Al-Athel, secretary-general  of the Riyadh Chamber of Commerce and Industry, said RCCI has created its own website that also provides a link to the Council of Saudi Chambers of Commerce and Industry as well as other chambers in the Kingdom.

He said information on their website is available both in English and Arabic, thus making it easier for visitors to raise queries in English and receive a prompt response. Already,  business inquiries were poring in from all over the world, Al-Athel said, adding that all information on the websites was updated regularly.

In a related development, Microsoft Arabia, represented by Peter Boit, vice president of e-Commerce worldwide, and Integrated Visions, represented by Bakr Bin Ladin, chairman of the board, signed an agreement through which Integrated Visions will offer software and computer applications through the Internet.

Microsoft Arabia and Advanced Computer Systems (ACS) launched today the www.buyforme.com website which was entirely developed using the (Visual Studio) tools and Microsoft applications. Abdulrahman Al-Odah, project manager of ACS, said the “aim of this project is to enable the consumers to buy their domestic needs, such as perfumes, cosmetics, gifts, office equipment, etc.” through the Internet.

Also, during the press conference, GulfNet Solutions, which is operating in the field of developing Internet and Intranet applications, announced yesterday the launch of an e-Financial Content Management Solution. Through these solutions, the business firms can contact with each other in the “Business to Business” theme in the stock market.

The conference also witnessed the launch of the first supermarket on the Internet in Saudi Arabia which the user can purchase his daily requirements from this market through the Internet. The site (www.zgrocer.com) has been developed by Zuhair Fayez IT Company. The site has been executed depending on the capabilities of Windows 2000.

A spokesman of Dubai-based Tejari.com said 35 percent of the web hits originate from Saudi Arabia. He said the company has developed an e-catalogue as part of  a joint venture with an Indian software company. The company, e-Global of Bangalore (south India), will open its branch in Dubai Internet City to produce e-catalogues as part of Business-to-Consumer solution to promote e-commerce.

“We have bought products using Tejari.com and saved nearly 19 percent on procurement. Auctions were also held online,” he said, adding that online transactions, according to one study, have helped to save 70 percent of the procurement manager’s time.

Dikran Tchablakian, chief executive officer of CompuMe (Dubai, UAE), said they were launching the third version of their e-shop site. It will be a bilingual (English/Arabic) multi-warehouse in different parts of the Middle East, providing both Business-to-Business and Business-to-Consumer facilities within the framework of a click-and-brick strategy.