The qualification has already been exported for students to sit the same exam papers in Pakistan.

This first exam in Scotland in a non-European language was sat by about 200 pupils, in 15 centres in Scotland and one in Pakistan where an English-language school chose the Scottish Standard Grade to test its pupils in Urdu.

The setting up of a Standard Grade qualification in Urdu marks the success of a long campaign to include the language in the range of exams available in Scotland. Until now, pupils wanting to sit an exam in Urdu have had to take an English GCSE in the subject.

Despite its relatively small numbers of candidates, in exam terms Urdu is now a more popular subject in Scotland than Russian or Classical Greek.

Urdu, a leading language of Pakistan, is one of the most widely spoken among Scotland's Asian community.

The Scottish Education Minister, Brian Wilson, said that the introduction of the new qualification in the language showed the flexibility of the Scottish school system in responding to an increasingly multi-cultural society.