The centre will include four servers, 12 desktop PCs and two tablet PCs and will include all the contents of the BCSR's library in electronic form.

It is being created as a donation from Microsoft and the company's outgoing country manager Samir Benmakhlouf regards it as one of the main achievements of his three and a half year tenure in Bahrain.

"The centre's staff was also trained by Microsoft as part of the project," he told the GDN.

The project has been over two years in the making, with BCSR staff currently finalizing work on translating hard copies of the centre's information into electronic form. "With four servers available, they should have enough space to store all the information they need," said Mr. Benmakhlouf.

He said the donation was part of the American software giant's policy to become active partners in the countries in which they operate. Mr. Benmakhlouf leaves Bahrain soon for his native Morocco, where he plans to start his own IT and business development consultancy. He leaves Microsoft after over seven years, during which he set up its offices in Algeria and Bahrain from scratch. Mr. Benmakhlouf looks back fondly over his time in Bahrain, during which Microsoft was involved in many initiatives including training over 1,000 teachers and government employees.

"We have also initiated many events which we believe will be lasting, including the Computer Shopping Festival which allows people to gain access and learn about technologies they wouldn't normally be exposed to," he continued.

Mr. Benmakhlouf is also the outgoing president of the Bahrain American Chamber of Commerce. Elections will be held shortly to choose a replacement.