THE Irish fascination with interpretive centres as an aid in beefing up income from tourism has found a resonance in Egypt. The Egyptian government said this week that it was seeking investment partners to "theme park" the El Alamein battle site as a major tourism project, transforming it, as it were, from tank trap to tourist trap.

The North African desert site was the location of the decisive tank battle between the forces of General Montgomery and those under the command of desert fox General Rommell on October 23rd, 1942.

Egyptian plans for the site include an international airport, a permanent exhibition centre and several holiday villages to accommodate adventure tourists. But war tourists may get, closer than, they would like to the carnage as millions of anti tank mines have yet to be located and removed.

El Alamein, clearly no Glendalough, could be the ultimate in adventure tourism.