The atmosphere in the UAE is described as 'intense'

Finance worker John Harrison said the British Embassy was trailing behind the other foreign agencies in the Gulf state, who gave their citizens regular updates by email and from "wardens".

Other expats say they are having to rely on television news to find out the latest situation.

The UAE includes the emirates of Dubai and Abu Dhabi, both of which have large numbers of British expats and holidaymakers.

The Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) said embassy staff were "extremely busy" trying to keep people as up-to-date as possible but had to treat situations "by priority".

The FCO has recently issued a general warning to Britons around the world to be vigilant against terrorist attacks.

It warns of an "especially high risk" of indiscriminate terrorist attacks on UK citizens in public places.

Mr Harrison, who has been in UAE for the past five years, said the regular emailed updates from the British Embassy had stopped.

'Intense'

He told BBC News Online by email: "When you ring the embassy all you are told is to look at the website.

"Yet you are asked to register and they take your email and telephone details - why in this age can they not email you with regular updates?" he asked.

In one recent conversation, in an attempt to find out whether or not the Foreign Office will be changing there advice to British Citizens living here, the answer was simply, 'I don't have a crystal ball' Edward Tischler

The 40-year-old, who works for an investment company, said he still felt "safe" in the UAE and would not be keen to return to his home in north west England.

But he described a new "intensity" since the onset of war with Iraq led by the US and British forces.

"You can feel the intensity increasing, people don't talk about it but it is there under the surface," he said.

'Short of information'

Another BBC News Online reader, Edward Tischler, who also lives in the UAE, emailed to add his criticism of embassy staff.

"In one recent conversation, in an attempt to find out whether or not the Foreign Office will be changing their advice to British citizens living here, the answer was simply, 'I don't have a crystal ball'.

"This falls slightly short of informative," he said.

The 27-year-old vision engineer said the British Embassy website had not been up dated for three days, before the conflict began.

There are similar gripes in Saudi Arabia, where BBC News Online reader Gordon said information distributed by the British Embassy was "a joke".

"We get more news from Sky TV," he said.

In Jordan the British Embassy raised the warning to British people, but have since reduced the staffing levels, said BBC News Online reader Sarah.

She said: "I am not very impressed by the British Embassy.

'Doing their best'

"They told us that they could not offer much help to those remaining. By that time, most airlines had already cancelled their flights so it would have been hard to get out anyway!" she said.

An FCO spokeswoman said a warden email service was in operation in the UAE.

But she said the British Embassy staff there were "very busy and are doing their best".

Other embassies, such as the American embassies have more staff and resources and probably are better served Foreign Office spokeswoman

"The UAE is not one of the places where we have advised people to leave, so we do have other priorities," she said.

"Other embassies, such as the American embassies have more staff and resources and probably are better served but people can look at the Foreign Office website for information which is up-dated 24/7," she told BBC News Online.

But she added: "The embassy website is not a news service."

Anyone not getting regular email up-dates should check with the embassy they were properly registered.

In nearby Bahrain there were words of support for embassy staff from Clive Turpin, who has lived there with his wife for more than 20 years.

"We plan to stay in this quiet and hospitable island among our friends - expatriate and Bahraini," he told BBC News Online.