5/3/2006 -- Cisco Systems recently announced that its Cisco Certified Internetwork Expert Security lab exam will be added to its Dubai, United Arab Emirates, testing location in July. Online registration is now open.

The addition brings the availability of the CCIE Security lab to six of Cisco's 10 testing centers worldwide. The other locations are Beijing; Brussels; Research Triangle Park, N.C.; San Jose, Calif.; and Sydney, Australia.

Only the company's flagship CCIE Routing & Switching lab exam is more widely available, being present in all 10 worldwide locations. Cisco also has labs in Tokyo; Hong Kong; San Paolo, Brazil and Bangalore, India. Cisco offers different labs for each location based on the demand for a particular track in that region, Yusuf Bhaiji, customer support engineer and security expert for the CCIE program, told TCPmag.com in an e-mail. "New labs require equipment, proctors and IT resources and we want to maximize the number of customers we can serve worldwide with our resources," he added.

Cisco is making available the CCIE Security lab in Dubai as the company sees emerging markets, like the Middle East and Southeast Asia, has having high growth potential, said Bhaiji. "There is a lot of momentum in these regions, thus increasing high demand for certified professionals."

Dubai is Cisco's regional headquarters in the Middle East. There are currently 49 CCIEs in the United Arab Emirates.

Because the CCIE lab exams are hands-on tests in live environments, candidates must travel to select locations worldwide to take their desired exam. The exam costs $1,250 (U.S.), not including travel and lodging costs, if any.

To view a chart of CCIE lab exam availability by location, go here. -Becky Nagel with additional reporting by Dan Hong