Burj Khalifa, the world's tallest building

Dubai opened the world's tallest skyscraper on Monday, and in a surprise move renamed the gleaming glass-and-metal tower Burj Khalifa in a nod to the leader of neighboring Abu Dhabi - the oil-rich sheikdom which came to its rescue during the financial meltdown.

The building is over 800 metres (2,625 ft) tall and has more than 160 stores, the most of any building in the world. (AP Image)

Besides an observation deck on its 124th floor affording 360-degree views of the entire city, Burj Khalifa is home to the world's first Armani Hotel, luxury offices and residences, and a variety of other sophisticated leisure and entertainment facilities. (AFP Image)

Burj Khalifa will ultimately be the place of residence, work and leisure for a community of up to 12,000 people. (AFP Image)

The move is being considered a bold feat on the world stage, despite the city state's shaky financial footing. The Burj's developer, Emaar Properties, kept pushing the design higher even after construction began. (AFP Image)

The Burj's opening, however, comes at a tough time for Dubai's economy. Property prices in newer parts of the sheikdom have collapsed by nearly half over the past year. (AFP Image)

At their peak, some apartments in the Burj were selling for more than 1,900 US dollars per square foot, though they now can go for less than half of that. Emaar has said the entire Downtown Burj Khalifa development, which includes the tower, will cost 20 billion US dollars to build.

Sales of properties around the Burj are meant to help pay for the tower itself, which analysts say is unlikely to be profitable on its own. (AFP Image)

The city-state turned to its richer neighbour Abu Dhabi for a series of bailouts totalling 25 billion US dollars in 2009 to help cover debts amassed by a network of state-linked companies. (AFP Image)

Bill Baker, the building's structural engineer, who is in Dubai for the inauguration said the engineers weren't sure how high they could go, and that the process was a learning experience. (AFP Image)