There is absolutely no reason for "das Helpdesk". The word is not to be found in the Duden, so it might be discussed. Actual usage is "der". The "ETH" Zurich might be a valuable reference.

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Note added at 2002-02-13 21:43:18 (GMT)
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I\'ve just read an interesting article about \"genuszuweisung\" www.inst.at/trans/3Nr/sandford.htm

I found both on Google. But i remember reading in a German "Lehrbuch" that imported words usually get the article "das" (e.g. Taxi, Hotel, etc.)

eli is not completely wrong about the gender of foreign words being imported into German. However, gender is often determined by the gender of the underlying German word; in this case, it is "Tisch", and Tisch is masculine. I guess that's why "der Helpdesk" is considered the correct form (instead of "das Helpdesk", which, frankly, sounds too weird).

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Note added at 2002-02-13 20:33:02 (GMT)
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Wort: Helpdesk
Anzahl: 17
Häufigkeitsklasse: 18 (d.h. der ist ca. 2^18 mal häufiger als das gesuchte Wort)
Morphologie: help|desk
Links zu anderen Wörtern:

Grundform: Helpdesk
Form(en): Helpdesk

Beispiel(e):
Nach einem Anruf beim Helpdesk führte der zuständige Mitarbeiter einen Virus-Scan online durch und spielte anschließend die entsprechende Anti-Software auf den befallenen PC. (Quelle: ZDNet 1999)
Die Vertriebskooperation erstreckt sich zunächst auf die Produkte GEDYS Office und GEDYS Helpdesk. (Quelle: OTS-Newsticker)
Der Materna Helpdesk auf Basis des Action Request Systems bietet eine Lösungsplattform für die unternehmensweite, professionelle Steuerung der Service-Prozesse. (Quelle: OTS-Newsticker)

www.wortschatz.uni-leipzig.de

I recently saw 'das Helpdesk' in a German text (translated from English) and my "Sprachgefühl" did not become alarmed, but an Austrian colleague told me that she'd rather say 'der'. As far as 'der Tisch', I'm not so sure, that we should take the litteral translation of the second word only, but rather the "Gesamtidee", and then it would mean something like 'Büro' (~Auskunftsbüro or CallCenter (das!)).

To me, both sound equally horrable in German. Maybe, you should tell your client to change it to a decent German word, a bit fargoing, though. If you leave it as it is I would go for "der" because it's "der Tisch". But, in the end "the help desk" does not really mean a "Tisch" but a group of people giving support. Therefore, my above suggestion to replace it completely to "Hotline", "Kundeberatungsgruppe", "Anwendersupport" or whatever.