by Khaleej Times. 

Oman's 'cyber-kid' voted 'best dotcom idea'

From our correspondent

MUSCAT - Oman's 'cyber-kid' Tariq Hilal Al Barwani has added another feather to his cap - the 21-year-old has been voted the Sultanate 'best dotcom idea' for the year 2000 by a local magazine.

Business Today had shortlisted 100 business leaders in Oman to conduct a quantitative survey for determining companies, individuals and ideas considered the best in business by the Omani business community. The survey was conducted by Simpa Marketing and Research Company.

Tariq, who is manager, Internet services, OHI Telecommunications, was voted Oman's best dotcom idea. Also, the portal www.ohitariq.net, which is under his supervision, was chosen the country's 'number one portal'.

His former portal, www.omanaccess.com, took the second spot, and cityshow.com the third. "I feel that I have hit three birds with one stone. This was great and unexpected. I think hard work pays," Tariq said.

He launched www.tariq.net in November 1999, and within a month it became the leading portal in terms of hits and in three months it was acquired by OHI and was renamed www.ohitariq.net.

Tariq joined United Media Services in January 1998 when he was still in college as a part-timer and worked for about two years during which he and his team created omanaccess.com and 11 other web sites. He left UMS in November 1999 and developed his own which was the first IT portal in Oman.

Tariq developed the General Telecommunications Organisation (GTO) to Omantel programme that simplified the setting for all Internet users in Oman following the change the GTO's identity. He also created the anti-virus 'happy99', 'I love you' and 'FIX2000' cleaners and distributed to people free of cost.

He appears on Oman TV on a weekly 25-minute programme on new technology.

He said his ambition now was to go to the United States to do Masters in Computer Science with Business Administration.