WHICH STATE CAN SPEND ITS OIL TRILLIONS FASTER? Thanks to the soaring oil price, Abu Dhabi and Dubai have money to burn - and they can't wait to spend it, as this week's dramatic acquisition of Manchester City shows. Michael Savage and Toby Green investigate where the money has gone

THEY SIT on a generous slice of the world's natural resources, are just a two-hour drive from each other and have trillions of dollars burning a hole in their pockets. Now, they want a piece of your business, your holiday, the films you watch and even the football team you support. And the only people wealthy enough to stop them are each other.

This week, a sheikh from Abu Dhabi bought up the Premier League football team Manchester City (and Dubai is preparing to pounce on Liverpool FC at any moment), while both have ambitions to become centres for the Western realms of modern art and film.

Welcome to the battle of the petro-bucks being waged by the oil emirates of the Middle East - the established billionaires' playground of Dubai and the newer rich kid on the block, Abu Dhabi. From skyscrapers half a mile high to building islands in the formation of the world map, the two cities have become known for engaging in some of the most costly prestige projects on the planet.

A curious quirk of the world's rising oil prices, which topped $150 a barrel briefly this summer, is that this has not been mirrored in an increase in the cost of producing crude. Despite the freedom with which they have invested in everything from books to ports, it has made it almost impossible to spend a hole in their mounting fortunes.

Their growing piles of cash have meant the two emirates have had to find ever more imaginative ways of investing it. While projects in the past have been devices to establish themselves as top business and leisure locations, they have increasingly turned to extreme displays of wealth for its own sake.

Next up are some of the world's greatest sporting events. Dubai already hosts a key golf tournament, but both have their sights aimed higher. Abu Dhabi is to be home to Formula One next year and there is even talk of a Dubai Olympic bid. It may not be long until Brad Pitt et al will have to ditch the chic Hollywood hills and decamp to make the blockbusters in an Abu Dhabi studio. It is all part of an explicit aim to become a hub of Western cultural industry.

At times, the sheer cost of their projects has meant their conspicuous use of wealth has moved from the shamelessly luxurious to the openly gratuitous.