I believe like the 360, 1st party PS3 games are region free (i.e. PAL or NTSC, doesn't matter), the problem is that some 3rd party games are NOT region free and therefore will not work.

Righty, PAL PS3 games are common in Doha, so I'll get a PAL console...are the consoles sold in Qatar also PAL?

As for the 360, are the games sold in Doha mostly PAL or NTSC?