The Malaysian prime minister, Mahathir Mohammed, has opened a multi-media garden city designed to be the country's answer to Silicon Valley in the United States -- a focus of technological development.

It's thought the new city, which lies forty kilometres south of the capital, Kuala Lumpur and is called Cyberjaya, will cost fifteen-billion dollars by the time it's completed.

Dr Mahathir said Cyberjaya was the last major building block in the special zone for information technology which he hopes will put Malaysia at the forefront of the information revolution of the next century.

Critics have questioned the viability of the project and cast doubt on its ability to attract investors at a time of unprecedented economic and political crisis in Malaysia.