Some 7.5 million tourists visited Egypt from January to November and the number may exceed 8 million by the end of December, the official MENA news agency reported Thursday.

Chairman of the Egyptian Tourism Authority Ahmad Khadem was quoted as saying Italian tourists led the list with 967,000 coming to Egypt so far this year and Germans followed with 927,000.

The number of Russian tourists visiting Egypt reached 635,000, British, 494,000 and French, 429,000, Khadem added.

Tourism, one of the country's major sources of state revenues, brings some 6 billion US dollars to Egypt annually.

It also provides millions of jobs, either directly or indirectly.

[More], Xinhua News Agency, China, December 16, 2004.

Mummies: Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt features the Largest Collection of Mummies and Coffins to Ever Leave British Museum and Illustrates the Fascinating Story of How Egyptians Prepared and Sent the Dead Into the Afterlife.

Among the peoples of the ancient world, the Egyptians occupy a unique position with their approach to death and the possibility of resurrection, particularly since so much of the evidence that has survived over thousands of years comes from a funerary context.

The largest and most comprehensive collection of ancient Egyptian funerary material outside of Cairo is housed at The British Museum. As part of its joint venture with the British Museum, the Bowers Museum[, Santa Ana, California,] has drawn upon this world-famous collection of mummies and funerary objects to present Mummies: Death and the Afterlife in Ancient Egypt ... Treasures from the British Museum, opening April 17, 2005...

[More], PRNewswire via my Stuff and News International, December 14, 2004.

cf. here, PRNewswire via FindLaw, USA, December 14, 2004.