This paper raises fundamental questions about the flow of information and questions representation in the creation and sustenance of online resources, particularly in relation to representation of the cultures of the Middle East. Optimist had a near utopian view of the revolutionary potential power of the internet, arguing that it provides a forum through which anyone with a computer can reach an audience of millions, without regard to frontiers and in defiance of the censors that held such easy control over traditional medial. Everyone could be a publisher and broadcaster from any connected computer anywhere. It has also made it possible to preserve entire libraries of books and media on a few hard drives, and to make them available across the globe. No one should ever be able to suppress culture or history again. Those who dared to point out that technology is expensive and that an enormous digital divide existed between those parts of the world that were connected and those that weren’t were condemned as luddites, for technology could overcome all problems. In fact the digital divide remains and is profound, but it is only one of many issues that have thwarted the realization of the utopian ideal. This paper looks at the issues attempts to represent the MENA region in digital world, and considers the challenges they have faced such as funding, intellectual property law, and finding an audience. Ultimately even the best-intentioned projects can serve to reinforce the existing neo-colonial order.