Meet me at Nokia at 6.30 pm

This could soon be part of metro commuter lingo at Dubai ( Non-residents of Dubai may be forgiven for thinking that the residents are either loony or speaking in code ) .

The Dubai Metro naming rights project gives companies and institutions the opportunity to put their name to 23 stations and two lines on the Metro, the first of which is set to open in September 2009 and the second in March 2010.

His Excellency Mattar Al Tayer, RTARTA Chairman of the Board and Executive Director said at the press launch of the project: "The ability to secure a station name from the outset is unique - no other Government in the world has planned naming rights as part of its transport infrastructure at conception stage. We expect this innovation to make its mark world-wide, and kick start a new marketing concept that sees governments raising funds to improve services, whilst giving companies a totally new platform for marketing, sampling and customer interaction."

Clearly there's no end to the quest to constantly turn people into consumers . Indeed this may signify the beginning...