The Gulf computer market grew 29 per cent compared with the same period a year ago, according to market research firm IDC.

The highest spending in the region was in the UAE, which psoted a  growth of 43 per cent. As many as 287,000 units were sold in the country during the period. The units included desktops, notebooks and servers.

The results reveal how the Gulf's economic growth continues to boost IT budgets, said Omar Shihab, an IDC computer analyst.

'IT spending is rising simply because of the expansion of construction and municipal projects,' Gulf News quoted him as saying. 'There are also many small to mid-sized businesses mushrooming across the country.'

The UAE market saw a 40 per cent rise in desktop sales, to 95,000 units. Notebooks rose by 48 per cent to 187,000, while Intel-based servers registered a 13 per cent drop to 5,400.

Shihab said the slight decline in servers was due to the release of dual-core processors in 2006, which spurred a wave of spending at the time.

Saudi Arabia grew nearly as fast, rising by 30 per cent or 256,300 total units. The much-smaller Bahrain market also grew by 30 per cent, to 20,000 units.

The Kuwait market fell by four per cent, Oman dropped by 15 per cent, and Qatar held steady with a one per cent gain compared with 2006.