(July 24, 2007) WIDE ANGLE travels to the royal headquarters of the United Arab Emirate of Ras al-Khaimah as HH Sheikh Saud solicits top European architects to carry out his grandiose dream of a new capital city in the middle of his desert kingdom.

Ras Al Khaimah has become the latest emirate in the United Arab Emirates to ban smoking in public places.

Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan is the latest celebrity to enter the United Arab Emirates’ booming real-estate market.

Learn more about the United Arab Emirates from these additional web resources.

I had many questions: What kind of state builds a brand new city? What is the idea behind the city? Where is the money to build the city coming from?

Unlike Abu Dhabi, Dubai boasts no vast oil reserves or territory. The emirate's plans to diversify its economy and fashion itself into a global center for trade and tourism led to an unprecedented construction boom in the area.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a loose federation of seven states formed in 1971, following independence from Britain, each with its own ruler. Local Sheikhs retain considerable power over their own regions, including control over oil and gas reserves.

Watch an audio slideshow featuring photographs of the master plan for Ras al-Khaimah's new capital city from the Office for Metropolitan Architecture. The firm won the competition to execute HH Sheikh Saud's dream of a new self-sustaining financial center in the emirate.

Afshin Molavi, former Dubai-based correspondent for Reuters and fellow at the New America Foundation discusses the United Arab Emirates' global significance with anchor Daljit Dhaliwal.

His Highness Sheikh Saud of Ras al-Khaimah has a grandiose dream — a brand new capital for the United Arab Emirates.