SURVEY: DUBAI, ABU DHABI OFFER BEST QUALITY OF LIFE IN MIDEAST

DUBAI, May 27 (Bernama) -- Dubai and Abu Dhabi in the United Arab Emirates
have emerged as cities offering the best quality of living in the Middle East,
according to the Mercer 2010 Quality of Living Survey.

Dubai was ranked 75th and Abu Dhabi came in 83rd in the latest survey
covering 221 cities worldwide.

The Omani capital, Muscat, was the only other city in the Middle East to
feature in the top 100 cities, at 100th spot.

Muscat was also the highest-ranking city in the Middle East in this year's
eco-city index, at 48, followed by Abu Dhabi and Dubai in joint 65.

The eco-ranking was based on water availability and potability, waste
removal, quality of sewage systems, air pollution and traffic congestion.

Vienna retained the top spot as the city with the world's best quality of
living, according to the Mercer survey.

Zurich and Geneva followed in second and third position respectively, while
Vancouver and Auckland were joint fourth in the rankings.

Rounding out the top 10 cities were Dusseldorf (6), Frankfurt and Munich
(joint 7th), Berne (9) and Sydney (10).

A global provider of consulting, outsourcing and investment services,
Mercer said it conducted the ranking to help governments and multi-national
companies compensate employees fairly when placing them on international
assignments.

-- BERNAMA