Saudi reaches deal on BlackBerry, averting ban

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Officials say that Saudi Arabia and the makers of the BlackBerry have reached a preliminary deal on granting access to users' data that will avert a ban on the phone's messenger service in the kingdom.

The agreement would likely involve placing a BlackBerry server inside Saudi Arabia to allow the government to monitor messages and allay official fears the service could be used for criminal purposes, the telecom regulatory officials said.

Bandar al-Mohammed, an official at the Saudi Communications and Information Technology Commission, said that BlackBerry maker Research in Motion (RIM) Ltd. has expressed its "intention... to place a server inside Saudi Arabia."