Professional social networking website LinkedIn has set up its first office in Dubai, which is planned to cater for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).

LinkedIn, which has more than 175 million members globally, is currently serving five million Middle East and North Africa users, according to the social network’s officials.

Approximately one million of these users are based in the United Arab Emirates, while members in the region are already networking in over 2,000 groups, says a LinkedIn statement.

"Having a strong local presence will help serve our members better here, ultimately making them more productive and successful," said Farhan Syed, LinkedIn's director of global sales strategy.

Located in Dubai's Internet City, the new team of seven plan to focus on sales and training initiatives for premium clients, ensuring they effectively use the web.

This latest expansion follows the opening of LinkedIn's Spanish office in March, and brings the number of LinkedIn offices in Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) to ten, including Paris, Milan, Stockholm, London, Munich, Milan, Dublin, Amsterdam, Madrid and Dubai.