Andre Yoskowitz
23 Jan 2010 19:41
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has approved Arabic domain names, giving the countries of Russia, Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates a chance to begin creating web addresses in their native languages.
"This marks a pivotal moment in the history of Internet domain names," says ICANN CEO and president Rod Beckstrom. "These international names will now allow people to type entire domain names in their own language."
By June, the four approved countries can request that local language addresses be included in domain names root systems that can be accessed by all Internet users.
The ICANN calls the move the biggest in over 40 years for the foundations of the Internet.