As far as lists of accomplishments and claims to fame go, Dubai’s doing alright for itself. The world’s first indoor black run is already open to the public, as is the tallest hotel. The planet’s tallest building – the Burj Dubai – is under construction, as is the world’s largest theme park – Dubailand – and the first ever underwater hotel. Then there’s the small matter of the gargantuan airport – again the biggest on earth.

As far as lists of accomplishments and claims to fame go, Dubai’s doing alright for itself. The world’s first indoor black run is already open to the public, as is the tallest hotel. The planet’s tallest building – the Burj Dubai – is under construction, as is the world’s largest theme park – Dubailand – and the first ever underwater hotel. Then there’s the small matter of the gargantuan airport – again the biggest on earth.

But it’s one of the earliest projects – first announced around a decde ago – that has perhaps caught the excitement and imagination of the rest of the world most. Before Nakheel – the government owned developers behind the project – announced they’d be constructing the world’s largest artificial island, Dubai was a tiny pretender to the crown. With the unveiling of the palm tree-shaped islands that are visible from space, the emirate became a real player.

There have been several set backs and the islands are running behind schedule, as you’d expect from a venture this ambitious, but in PR terms alone, the project has been worth its weight in gold. Nakheel – hardly withering flowers when it comes to publicity – quickly realised the marketing potential and offered discounted prices on the first palm’s ‘signature villas’ to England’s top footballers when they stopped in Dubai en route to the World Cup in Japan and South Korea in 2002.

So, what did England’s finest see to make them so excited they couldn’t concentrate on the competition? Or, indeed, the next one four years later? David Beckham, Michael Owen and the ten other members of the squad who all snapped up the properties have all bought on the Palm Jumeirah – the first announced and to be completed.

The Palm Jumeirah has been created by dredging and ‘rainbowing’ 94 million cubic metres of sand and 7 million tons of rocks. It consists of a ‘trunk’, with a crown of 17 ‘fronds’ all surrounded by a crescent that forms an 11-kilometre long breakwater. The total area of the island is 25 square kilometres. Once completed, the Palm Jumeirah will contain 8000 residences and 30 beachfront hotels, including luxurious offerings from Trump, Taj Exotica and Fairmont.

The development has courted controversy as campaigners have claimed that the island is environmentally-damaging, but the developers have taken care to disrupt the marine life as little as possible. The breakwater has been created using natural rock to encourage the creation of a natural reef and three fighter jets, stripped of environmentally-harmful materials, have been sunk near the island to create another artificial reef.