Scientists are developing a tsunami warning system for the Mediterranean region which they said on Wednesday should be ready in 2011 and could save thousands of lives. The 40-50 million euro ($63.32 million) project started three years ago, shortly after the December 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami that killed 230,000 people and which prompted Asian nations to develop warning systems. "It is true that in the Mediterranean tsunamis are rare," said project vice chairman Gerassimos Papadopoulos at a geoscience conference.