The two-day event, which is the first of its kind in the world, will focus on ethics and integrity issues in the sector of e-financial services, on intellectual property rights as they apply to e-commerce and on the inherent challenges of regulating the Internet.

The conference will feature prominent speakers from regional and international organizations including the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD), the US Securities and Exchange Commission and the Business Software Alliance (BSA).

"The timing of this event is critical, coming as Dubai brings truly regional focus to the growth potential of Internet-based enterprises. It is our strong belief that only by addressing key ethical issues will the region's entrepreneurs be able to collectively maintain global business partner and customer confidence in enterprises originating from this region," said a spokesman for the Centre.

The GCEE is affiliated with the Washington-based Ethics Resource Center, a non-profit organization established in 1922 and funded by fees for services and corporate grants.

The center's role has been the pursuit of organizational ethics standards on a global scale, advising multinational corporations, governments and local organizations and facilitating the creation of centers of excellence to address issues of ethics and integrity in environments with diverse cultural and social structures.

The GCEE, originally established in Abu Dhabi in 1998, has collaborated with the UAE's Ministry of Health in developing codes of ethics for the various healthcare professions that answer to the UAE's unique and cosmopolitan environment.