AMMAN, Sept. 10 (Xinhua) -- Jordan will launch a geo-database to collect and manage information on archaeological sites throughout the kingdom to better preserve the country's historical treasures, local daily The Jordan Times reported on Wednesday.

    The web-based geographic information system is known as the Middle Eastern Geodatabase for Antiquities, Jordan, or MEGA-J, which is part of joint efforts to inventory, monitor and manage archaeological sites and monuments in the Middle East.

    It will serve as a planning and decision-making tool that facilitates archaeological authorities on site protection and management, infrastructure and development control in line with World Heritage Site requirements, said a statement issued by the Los Angeles-based Getty Conservation Institute (GCI) which developed the system.

    Data collection for MEGA-J has been conducting in February 2008,and a prototype of new system will be installed next Spring in the Department of Antiquities (DoA) offices in Amman and Irbid, the capital of Irbid Governorate, according to the statement.

    MEGA-J will also serve as the prototype for a similar system to be installed after the war ends in Iraq, the statement said.