[AfrICANN-discuss] My Name, My Language, My Internet

[Anne-Rachel Inné]

My Name, My Language, My Internet: IDN Test Goes Live

ICANN launches global test of Internationalized Domain Names

15 October 2007
 [image: ICANN is celebrating the ability of people to get 'My name, My
Language. My Internet' wiki pages with the launch of the IDN evaluation with
T-Shirts displaying example.test in the 11
languages.]<http://www.icann.org/announcements/photos/idn-tshirts-600x430-15oct07.jpg>

ICANN is celebrating the ability of people to get "My name, My Language. My
Internet" wiki pages with the launch of the IDN evaluation with T-Shirts
displaying example.test in the 11 languages.

*MARINA DEL REY, Calif.*: Internet users around the globe can now experiment
with their name in their language on their Internet with today's launch of
the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers live testing of
Internationalized Domain Names in 11 languages.

"This is one of the most exciting times yet in the development of IDNs,"
said Dr Paul Twomey, ICANN's President and CEO. "Internet users who speak
the 11 languages of the test can play a key role in testing how IDNs
operate, and help us move toward full implementation for all the languages
of the world."

Internet users around the globe can now to access wiki pages with the domain
name example.test in the 11 test languages -- Arabic, Persian, Chinese
(simplified and traditional), Russian, Hindi, Greek, Korean, Yiddish,
Japanese and Tamil. The wikis will allow Internet users to establish their
own subpages with their own names in their own language -- one suggestion
is: example.test/yourname.

ICANN has also put a video explaining the evaluation process on YouTube, and
available on the ICANN website.

The wiki pages can be accessed by typing example.test in the characters of
one of the 11 languages, or by going to http://idn.icann.org.

"These wikipages are key to the test. We want to know how the URL displays
in the Internet browser, if it works when you cut and paste it into the body
of an email to a friend, and how all of this impacts the root zone," Dr
Twomey added.

The 11 evaluation wikis will remain online until IDNs are fully implemented
and the first top-level domain is introduced in the evaluation language.

The full introduction of IDNs will mean that people can write the whole of a
domain name in the characters used to write their own language. Presently
you can only use these characters before the dot, so .com, .net, .org and
the like can only be written in characters from basic Latin. IDNs will
change this so that literally tens of thousands of characters will be
available to the world.

The "example.test" labels with the associated scripts, the languages that
were used for translation of the two terms "example" and "test", and the
A-labels for second and top level that are inserted in the IDN TLD zones and
DNS respectively.

IDNs Part 2: example.test Evaluation Period (3:05) | also available at
dotSUB <http://dotsub.com/films/idnspart_1/>

IDNs Part One: An Introduction (4:22) | also available at
dotSUB<http://dotsub.com/films/idnspart/index.php>

* About ICANN: *

ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of
unique identifiers like domain names (like .org, .museum and country codes
like .uk) and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that
help computers reach each other over the Internet. Careful management of
these resources is vital to the Internet's operation, so ICANN's global
stakeholders meet regularly to develop policies that ensure the Internet's
ongoing security and stability. ICANN is an internationally organized,
public benefit non-profit company. For more information please visit:
www.icann.org.

* Media Contacts: *

Jason Keenan
Media Adviser, ICANN (USA)
Ph: +1 310 382 4004
E: jason.keenan at icann.org <%20jason.keenan at icann.org>

International: Andrew Robertson
Edelman (London)
Ph: +44 7921 588 770
E: andrew.robertson at edelman.com <%20andrew.robertson at edelman.com>
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