Ajmal Perfumes aims to enter the Guinness Book of Records by creating the world's largest incense burner. It is a popular practice among Arabs in the Middle East to use incense to perfume their bodies and garments, explained Nazir Ajmal, marketing director of Ajmal Perfumes.

"The 'mabkhara' (incense burner) is an integral part of the traditional Arabic lifestyle. Creating the world's largest 'mabkhara' is our way of paying tribute to this long-standing Arabic tradition," he said.

Approximately 60 times the size of a normal "mabkhara", the Ajmal creation measures about three metres in height with a 1.2 metre base. It weighs approximately 1,000 kilos and is made of dyed ash-wood, copper and brass.

The three parameters by which Guinness authorities would judge this record will be that the "mabkhara" is constructed using the same materials that go into a traditional incense-burner; that it is in perfect working order; and, finally, that it retains its original structure and form after being operated.

A traditional 'mabkhara' is hour-glass shaped with both the base and upper sections usually made from wood. Rivets and sheets of copper and brass are used to decorate and reinforce the exterior body.

"In creating the world's biggest 'mabkhara' we have stuck as close as possible to both the design and structural elements of a traditional incense-burner," Ajmal said. The record-setting entry will be tested today when it will be loaded with six kilos of coal and incense. The incense will then be burnt, and while the fragrant fumes of the sweet-smelling incense waft through the Dubai Marina Complex, another world record will be set.