QUEBEC CITY: A Hindu temple in
Cambodia, two historic Malaysian trading towns and an early agricultural site
from Papua New Guinea were added to UNESCO's World Heritage List on Monday.

The new entrants from Asia on the list are the 11th century Preah
Vihear temple site, perched on a mountaintop on the Thai-Cambodia border; the
cities of the Straits of Malacca, Melaka and George Town in Malaysia, and the
Kuk Early Agricultural Site in Papua New Guinea, marking the country's first
entry on the list.

The UNESCO committee has been meeting in this
oldest of Canadian cities since Wednesday to consider adding to its coveted list
of protected architectural and natural wonders. A total of 45 new sites were
vying for inclusion on the list this year.

Last week, Cambodia
deployed riot police to protect the Thai embassy for fear that a border dispute
over the temple could spark violent protests. The move came after Thailand
suspended its endorsement of Cambodia's bid for the UN cultural agency UNESCO to
grant the long-disputed Preah Vihear temple World Heritage status.

In 1962, the dispute over the 11th-century temple went before the
World Court, which ruled that the temple belonged to Cambodia, although the main
entrance lies at the foot of a mountain in Thailand.

The
long-standing row appeared resolved last month, after Thailand endorsed
Cambodia's plan to seek World Heritage status at a UNESCO meeting in Canada this
week.

But the deal sparked a political controversy in Thailand, and
last week, Cambodia closed the mountaintop temple after more than 100 Thais
marched to the compound to protest the deal. A Thai court then forced the
government to suspend its endorsement of the plan.

The ruins of the
Hindu temple are the most important example of ancient Khmer architecture
outside of Cambodia's famed Angkor Vat, and have weathered centuries of wars and
duelling territorial claims with Thailand.

Built to honour the Hindu
god Shiva, Preah Vihear stretches dramatically up to a cliff-top in the Dangrek
mountain range.

To date, 862 sites in more than 140 countries have
been designated UNESCO World Heritage sites.

Also on Monday, the
heritage committee included examples of the 17th century military architecture
of Sebastien Le Prestre de Vauban, who built or upgraded more than 300
fortifications along France's borders.

His designs, which had a
major role in the history of fortification in Europe and as far away as the
American continent, Russia and East Asia, exemplify "the peak of classic
fortifications, typical of western military architecture," the committee said.

Other sites added to the UNESCO list include Slovakian wooden
churches, German early 20th century low-income housing, the Renaissance towns of
Mantua and Sabbioneta in Italy, and the Stari Grad Plain on the Adriatic island
of Hvar, farmed for 2,400 years.

San Marino, too, entered the
coveted list, said the committee, "as a testimony to the continuity of a free
republic since the Middle Ages."

During the session, the committee
also approved the extension of the Mountain Railways of India with the
inscription of the Kalka-Shimla Railway, a 96-kilometre single-track working
rail link built in the mid-19th century to provide a service to the highland
town of Shimla.

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