Newscorp founder and chairman Rupert Murdoch on Tuesday called on the Arab world to review the practice of media censorship, saying it was ultimately "counterproductive".

Speaking at the Abu Dhabi Media Summit, Murdoch said: "Human creativity flourishes in freedom."

The media mogul added: "Throughout my life I have endured my share of blistering newspaper attacks, unflattering television coverage, and books that grossly distort my views or businesses or both...

"I have learned this is the price one pays for success. For a nation the stakes are even higher. In the face an inconvenient story, it can be tempting to resort to censorship or civil or criminal laws to try to bury it... In the long run this is counterproductive. Markets that distort their media end up promoting the very panic and distrust they had hoped to control."

The UAE's drive to become a global media centre was an important undertaking, Murdoch said, but added the challenges were arduous.

"Right now the world does not think of the Middle East when it thinks of creative content. Even your own citizens often look elsewhere for a film or television show or news site.

"Many of your own citizens prefer Hollywood movies or American television shows to local production... Some people say you cannot build a a creative sector here. I do not believe that for a moment." he said.

He added: "Your citizens should be free to take full advantage of human creativcity wherever they find it... To make this talent bloom you need businesses willing to invest in creativity, to nurture talent, and to build audiences that will enjoy the fruits of this enterprise... A creative sector flourishes best in societies where governments intervene with a light hand."

Murdoch also called on Middle East countries looking to foster flourishing creative industries to be wary of indulging in protectionism, citing Japan as an example of a nation with a "protected, and limited, creative sector".

He said: "Sometimes nations seek to promote their pwn creative industries by limiting foreign participation and protecting local producers. Sometimes these restrictions do prevent us entering a market, or limit us to a tiny share... Creative protectionism is as destructive as other types of protectionism.

"It is expensive, it is unfair, and it guarantees that local companies coddled by protection will never be strong enough to compete outside their own borders."

The News Corporation founder and chairman was delivering the keynote speech at the inaugural Abu Dhabi Media Summit. The three-day forum has gathered some of the industry’s leading figures for a mix of public sessions and closed door discussions.

Murdoch’s son, James, is scheduled to address the summit on Wednesday. Also speaking over the next 48 hours are Warner Bros president Alan Horn, AMD chief Dirk Meyer, AOL chairman Tim Armstrong, and Etisalat chairman Mohammed Omran.

Earlier this week News Corp said it would open a regional hub for its online advertising network, .Fox, in Abu Dhabi. It also plans to open a documentary production office in the UAE capital, and to move operations of some channels in the region to Abu Dhabi’s recently opened broadcasting facility.