As reported in this morning's DNR, the first phase of the world's largest mall opened this week in—where else?—Dubai. Despite the global financial crisis, Emaar Malls Group, which developed the 5.6-million-square-foot shopping center, expects it to receive 30 million visitors in its first year. Here, a brief list of what's on offer to attract them, dubious or not:

- 1,200 stores, including Versace, Burberry, Roberto Cavalli, Galliano, Hermès, Givenchy, Cerruti, Missoni, Tom Ford, and Ermenegildo Zegna
- A 10-million-liter aquarium with 33,000 animals, at least 30 of which are, apparently, very aggressive
- A 76,000-square-foot indoor amusement park called SEGA Republic, subdivided into themes including the Speed Zone, Sports Zone, and Redemption Zone
- An Olympic-size skating rink, open year round
- 14,000 indoor parking spaces