Today, the world has a new global landmark - Burj Dubai. At 512.1 meters (1,680 ft), Burj Dubai, developed by Emaar Properties, is the tallest building in the world, according to a report carried today by the UAE news agency "WAM." "The achievement once again puts Dubai in the international spotlight and underlines Emaar's arrival as a global developer. Now a Financial Times Global 500 (FT Global 500) company, Emaar has a significant presence in 30 international markets. Burj Dubai is now taller than Taipei 101 in Taiwan, which at 508 meters* (1,667 ft) has held the tallest-building-in-the-world title since it opened in 2004. Burj Dubai has now reached 141 storeys - more storeys than any other building in the world. On schedule for completion in 2008, Burj Dubai will be the tallest structure in the world in all four of the criteria listed by the Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat (CTBUH). The council measures height to the structural top, the highest occupied floor, to the top of the roof, and to the tip of the spire, pinnacle, antenna, mast or flag pole. During its construction, Burj Dubai has left behind the skyscrapers that previously defined tall tower architecture around the world, such as Petronas Towers in Malaysia (452 metres, 1,483 ft), Sears Tower, Chicago (442 meters, 1,451 ft), Jin Mao Building, Shanghai (421 meters, 1,381 ft) and Empire State Building, New York (381 meters, 1,250 ft). --MORE
