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ICANN unveils first non-Latin domain names

The first non-Latin domain names made their debut on the Internet on Wednesday.

Choosing Arabic as the initial language, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) picked Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates as the first three regions able to use country-code specific top-level domains (TLDs). This means people in those countries will now be able to type addresses for regional Web sites using their own native language characters.

In an effort to make the Internet more user friendly to more nations around the world, ICANN approved the measure to adopt international domain names (IDNs) last … Read more

ICANN approves non-Latin domain names

The organization responsible for managing the assignment of domain names and IP addresses has approved a new plan to allow non-Latin characters in Web extensions.

Known as Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), the system is designed to globalize the Net so regions around the world can use their own local alphabet characters to surf in cyberspace, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, said Friday.

Calling IDNs the "biggest technical change" to the Internet since its birth 40 years ago, ICANN unanimously approved the plan on the final day of its six-day conference in Seoul.

IDNs … Read more

Web addresses may adopt non-English characters

The Internet may be getting friendlier for a significant chunk of the world. A proposal is up for a vote to let Web addresses use non-English characters.

The proposed change (PDF), known as Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs), will allow the use of non-Latin characters in the entire address. Currently, such characters are allowed only in part of the address. IDNs will let people who write in Chinese, Korean, or Arabic use their own languages to surf the Web, and is expected to jump-start Internet use in many regions across the globe.

ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, … Read more