RIYADH: The Commission for the Promotion of Virtue and Prevention of Vice (Haia) will start using new technology to educate pilgrims about Haj from this week.

This includes setting up giant screens, handing out memory sticks with information, and sending messages to their mobile phones in 15 different languages.

The Haia stated that the big screens would constantly provide information on the Haj rituals. There would also be more than 30,000 flash memory cards distributed throughout Makkah and the holy sites.

Abdulrahman Al-Sanad, the Haia chief, said the organization was committed to using technology that would benefit pilgrims. The giant screens would be set up at public squares and bus stations.

The Haia recently launched a website with educational material about Haj. There would also be 1,000 computer tablets loaded with important information handed out to the heads of pilgrim groups, he said.