<font class="body"><p>(Greenwood Village, Colo., Nov. 18, 2003) ? The Mediterranean island country of Malta will now have RE/MAX offices following the recent signing of a regional franchise agreement between RE/MAX International, RE/MAX of Europe and Kevin and Jeffrey Buttigieg, co-owners of the new region.  The agreement makes Malta the 45th country for RE/MAX operations.</p><p>            ?We will have the first office open in St. Julians by February and the second in Sliema shortly after that,? said Jeffrey Buttigieg, who is handling marketing for the new region.  ?Both of those cities are primarily resort areas, but within the next four years we look to have as many as 12 offices offering services to local Maltese residents as well as international buyers and sellers.?</p><p>The Maltese Islands are situated in the Mediterranean Sea, about 58 miles from Sicily and 180 miles  from North Africa.<span>  They consist of Malta (99 sq miles) Gozo (22 sq miles) and Comino (1 sq mile). They are one of the oldest civilizations in the Mediterranean dating back to circa 5000 years B.C.</span><span>  </span>The Republic of Malta has a population of 400,420 and both Maltese and English are official languages. Major industries include tourism, electronics, shipbuilding and construction, food and beverage, textiles, footwear, clothing and tobacco.<span>  The capital city is Valletta.</span></p></font>