ABU DHABI - THE crown prince of the United Arab Emirates of Dubai has bought a female camel for a record US$2.72 million (S$3.7 million), an organiser at a camel beauty pageant said on Monday.

Sheikh Hamdan bin Mohammed bin Rashed al-Maktoum 'bought camels... worth 16.5 million dirhams, including a female camel... for 10 million dirhams,' Mr Hamad bin Kardoum al-Amiri said.

Mr Amiri, quoted by the official WAM news agency, made the remarks on the sidelines of the nine-day beauty pageant which opened on Wednesday in the UAE capital of Abu Dhabi.

The contest is part of a camel festival in Abu Dhabi that aims to celebrate and preserve the region's cultural heritage. Oil-rich Abu Dhabi, one of seven emirates that make up the UAE federation, produced the world's first test-tube purebred camel and has begun using remote-controlled robot riders in its camel races in place of child jockeys. -- AFP