Unesco names eight new sites on World Heritage List: 11-07-2008
The Unesco World Heritage Committee has named eight new sites on its World Heritage List including the cities of Melaka and George Town in Malaysia.
Melaka and George Town are historic cities in the Straits of Malacca that have been developed over 500 years.
According to Unesco, trading and cultural exchanges between the east and west was an important part of the region's development.
Melaka features government buildings, churches, squares and fortifications that demonstrate the early stages of the area's history.
While the history of Melaka is drawn from the Portuguese and Dutch periods of the early 16th Century, George Town draws more influence from the British era at the end of the 18th century.
"The influences of Asia and Europe have endowed the towns with a specific multicultural heritage that is both tangible and intangible," Unesco said in a statement.
Among the other sites nominated for the list included the Kuk Early Agricultural Site in Papua New Guinea which consists of 116ha of swamps, 1,500 metres above sea level.