After repeated delays, the Arabic TV station al-Jazeera has announced a launch date of 15 November for its English-language news channel.
US President George W Bush once allegedly threatened to bomb the Doha-based station.
The channel is hoping to reach a target audience of 40 million households in Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia.
Al-Jazeera International plans a 24-hour service from bureaus in Kuala Lumpur, Doha, London and Washington DC.
It is also seeking to be the first network to broadcast globally in high-definition (HDTV) format.
Pioneering
"We are extremely proud of what al-Jazeera has achieved over the past 10 years," said Wadah Khanfar, the network's director-general, referring to the inauguration of the Arabic-language on 1 November 1996.
"Al-Jazeera today is an international media organisation. Al-Jazeera English will build on the pioneering spirit of al-Jazeera and will carry our media model to the entire world.
"The launching of the English channel offers the chance to reach out to a new audience that is used to hearing the name of al-Jazeera without being able to watch it or to understand its language," Mr Khanfar says.
"The new channel will provide the same ground-breaking news and impartial and balanced journalism to the English-speaking world."
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