Across the Spectrum

• ICANN approves new Net names

  2/7/2008

  THE Internet's global governing body ICANN has approved a range of top level domain names that will lresult in the biggest expansion of the Net in its 40 year existence.

  ICANN is the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, and is the closest thing the Internet has to a governing body.

  ICANN president and chief executive, Australian Paul Twomey, says the changes will give companies and individuals more choice.

  "The Board today accepted a recommendation from its global stakeholders that it is possible to implement many new names to the Internet, paving the way for an expansion of domain name choice and opportunity" Mr Twomeys said.
  
  A final version of the implementation plan must be approved by the ICANN Board before the new process is launched. It is intended that the final version will be published in early 2009.
  
  "The potential here is huge. It represents a whole new way for people to express themselves on the Net," said Mr Twomey. "It's a massive increase in the 'real estate' of the Internet."
  
  Presently, users have a limited range of 21 top level domains to choose from - names that we are all familiar with like .com, .org, .info.
  
   "One of the most exciting prospect before us is that the expanding system is also being planned to support extensions in the languages of the world," said Peter Dengate Thrush, ICANN's Chairman.
  
  "This is going to be very important for the future of the Internet in Asia, the Middle East, Eastern Europe and Russia." The present system only supports 37 Roman characters.