Internet addresses go international

Posted on 30 Oct 2009 at 10:04

The body that governs the internet has given the go-ahead for the use of on-Latin scripts in web addresses, bringing the biggest overhaul of the net since its inception, according to experts.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) claims the move could lead to a dramatic rise in the number of Internet users. It’s estimated that over half of the 1.6 billion people who use the internet speak languages with non-Latin scripts

“This is only the first step, but it is an incredibly big one and an historic move toward the internationalisation of the internet,” said ICANN’s chief executive Rod Beckstrom.

“We have just made the Internet much more accessible to millions of people in regions such as Asia, the Middle East and Russia.”

The program will be rolled out in stages, starting 16 November. Initially, it will allow internationalised domain names (IDNs) using scripts such as Chinese, Korean or Arabic for the country code designators at the end of an address name.

Eventually, the use of IDNs will be expanded to all types of internet address names.

ICANN was set up in 1998 and operated under the aegis of the US Commerce Department. It decides what names can be added to the Internet’s top level domains (TLDs) such as .com as well as country designations. Last month, the US government agreed to changes that in effect meant ICANN would no longer report solely to the US.

Author: Reuters

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