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NEWS

Bluetooth gives Qataris' social life new dimension

by Odai Sirri for Reuters: "Doha, 31 July-- 'Oh my God! It's him!' squeals 21-year-old Fatima as her mobile phone beeps, alerting her to an incoming message. She explains to her giggling friends that she has just been contacted by a man she's had her eye on -- although she has yet to meet him -- via the Bluetooth technology in her mobile phone.

"The short-range wireless device is challenging age-old customs in Qatar and other Gulf Arab states where the mingling of the sexes remains taboo and many marriages are still arranged by family elders. Most mobile phones are equipped with Bluetooth and when it is activated, a user can 'see' others within a 10-meter (30-feet) radius.

"Moments later Fatima receives another message, this time giving the man's name and mobile phone number. 'It was a lot harder to meet guys before these new phones,' she says as she replies to the message.

"Bluetooth was created with the corporate world in mind but its popularity has mushroomed, especially in restrictive societies...

"The technology has helped the world's oldest profession thrive in Qatar's Islamic society where prostitution is illegal.

"Anxiously sitting at a lounge in one of Doha's five-star hotels, 35-year-old designer Waleed is awaiting a Bluetooth message from a woman seated a few meters away from him. Bluetooth, he explains, allows him to avoid drawing attention to himself while he tries to make a deal. 'This way, nobody can suspect anything. Its all done discreetly,' he says. His phone beeps, with the answer he was hoping for. 'It's as simple as that,' he adds, getting up to leave..."

[Bluetooth - posted 1 August 2005]