MI4 to be filmed in Dubai

Dubai - The fourth movie in the Mission: Impossible series starring Tom Cruise will be filmed in Dubai, the emirate's government media office said in a statement on Tuesday.

"The latest installment of the globally renowned action thriller Mission: Impossible, starring Tom Cruise, will be filmed in Dubai within the coming few weeks," the statement said.

"Filming in Dubai would be the longest among other international cities that will feature in MI4," and will last at least three weeks, the statement said, without identifying the other locations where the movie will be filmed.

The existing three films in the series, released in 1996, 2000 and 2006, were inspired by a Mission: Impossible television series that first aired in the mid 1960s.

The Dubai government expressed hope that the filming would boost "Dubai's position as a favoured destination for international movie production, while reinforcing its strategy towards establishing itself as a regional movie hub".

The glitzy Gulf city state borrowed heavily to fuel its rapid development.