Dubai: From a sleepy fishing village to the center of the region's pearl industry and then a 1970s oil producer, Dubai's economy has seen some major changes over the last century.

But few would have foreseen its emergence as a global media hub, and only true visionaries would have placed the emirate as a major film-production center.

Dubai Media City is now home to 72 broadcasters, including some of the leading names in international and regional media, like MBC, BBC World, CNN and Reuters.

Dubai Studio City was launched to accommodate broadcasters who cannot find space to rent in Dubai Media City and to change Dubai into a film production center. Dubai has already emerged as a location for film shooting. Parts of recent Hollywood blockbuster Syriana were filmed at Dubai hotels.

Studio City director Jamal Al Sharif said the emirate can now compete with traditional production centers such as Egypt and cover all aspects of filmmaking.