The Palm islands in Dubai will be the three largest artificial islands in the world. They are named The Palm Jumeirah, The Palm Jebel Ali and The Palm Deira. Each island will be constructed in the shape of a palm tree and topped with a crescent. Each island will have residential communities and resorts. The wide continental shelf off the Dubai coast and the relatively shallow depth of the Persian Gulf are what makes this project possible.

The islands were designed as part of the plan to develop tourism in Dubai against the eventual depletion of the emirate's oil reserves, which are expected to be depleted in the second decade of the 21st century. The goal is to become one of the biggest areas in the world for tourism as a means of diversifying the economy.

The islands were commissioned by Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum in order to increase Dubai's tourism. Each of the 3 islands will be in the shape of a palm tree and topped with a crescent. Each will feature a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment complexes. The Palm Islands are located off the coast of The United Arab Emirates and will add 520 km of beaches to the city of Dubai.

The first two islands will be constructed using approximately 100 million cubic meters of rock and sand. Palm Deira will be built using nearly 1 billion cubic meters of rock and sand. Between the three islands there will be over 100 luxury hotels, exclusive residential beach side villas and apartments, water theme parks and marinas, shopping malls, restaurants, sports facilities and health spas.