The United Arab Emirates Al Ahli Group and Marvel Entertainment have announced a partnership that will involve the construction of a state-of-the-art theme park in Dubai that will feature Marvel's full library of superheroes.  The project, which will take four years to complete and will cost over $1 billion, is set to open in 2011.  Experienced theme park designers who have worked in Hollywood and Orlando are currently at work designing rides and attractions featuring Spider-Man, the X-Men, the Incredible Hulk, the Fantastic Four and the rest of Marvel's extensive stable of heroes.

The choice of a Marvel-themed park is yet another example of Marvel's growing international presence -- a presence that can be traced in large part to the string of successful films based on Marvel's comic book characters.