Short Film News (SFN)- Qatar's Al-Jazeera television network has added another feather to its cap by launching a documentary channel, six weeks after an English-language channel hit the airwaves.

According to the government-funded media group the new 24-hour channel, which broadcasts in Arabic, aims to become a leader in its field, championing the promotion of documentary culture in the Arab world and beyond. Al-Jazeera Documentary will pay particular attention to the Middle East with a special focus on the cultural diversity of its societies and as the first service of its kind in the region, it will broadcast programs on different aspects of human activity including social, political, cultural, scientific, historical, and environmental.

The flagship of the Al-Jazeera Satellite Network launched in 1996 and it shot to world fame through its exclusive coverage of the Afghanistan war in late 2001 and its broadcasting of videotapes of Al-Qaeda chief, Osama bin Laden.