After being on air for almost a week, the new 24-hour news channel Al-Jazeera English is confident its popularity will only increase, its managing director said today.

"We have had fantastic feedback. We are providing a different perspective to news," Nigel Parsons, a Briton who formerly worked for the BBC, told reporters, from Doha.

Kuala Lumpur is the regional headquarters for the Qatar-based broadcaster's Asian operations, a market of three billion people of which about one-third are Muslims.

Parsons said Al-Jazeera English could be seen in most parts of the world through broadband Internet connections, including China, Singapore, Australia and Taiwan.

"Since the inaugural launch (Nov 15) in terms of cable and satellite platforms, we have reached more than 80 million households," he said.

"People have now seen the product. We expect to grow very quickly," he added.
Parsons admitted that the US was a tough marker to penetrate but said many Americans were watching Al-Jazeera English via the Internet.

"I think we have seen it as a tough market. I think cable televisions were cautious and want to see what we have (to offer). Americans are much hooked to the Internet. Judging from e-mails, we have many people watching us," he said.

Alternative perspective

Parsons said Kuala Lumpur was picked as the Asian hub above neighbouring Singapore and Hong Kong.

"We were unsure about Hong Kong and there were others in Singapore and it is quite sterile and Malaysia offered some tax incentives. We want to be leaders and not followers," he said.

"Petronas Twin Towers is a challenging place. It is a magnificent building to have our Asian headquarters," he added, referring to the location of Al-Jazeera's studios in Kuala Lumpur.

Al-Jazeera has promised to provide an alternative perspective to international news channels based in Europe and the United States - a claim welcomed by many Asian commentators and governments.

Al-Jazeera's Arabic service, which celebrated its 10th anniversary on Nov 1, has revolutionised news media in the Arab world, but it has also provoked controversy.

It gained worldwide recognition mainly because of its broadcast of videotapes issued by Al-Qaeda chief Osama bin Laden.