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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><img id="_x0000_i1025" src="http://www.vocus.com/images/pr/icannheader2_logo.jpg"><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><em><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>January 19, 2012</span></b></em><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align=center style='text-align:center'><strong><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Application Window for New Top-Level Domain Names</span></strong><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align=center style='text-align:center'><strong><span style='font-size:13.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Successfully Passes One-Week Mark</span></strong><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align=center style='text-align:center'><strong><span style='font-size:10.5pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Application System Functioning Smoothly</span></strong><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><em><b><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Marina del Rey, California…</span></b></em><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> One week after the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) began accepting applications for new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs), the application system is functioning without a hitch.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>“I can state firmly that one week into the process, the application system for the new domain names is functioning just as it should,” said Rod Beckstrom, ICANN’s President and Chief Executive Officer. “This is a reflection of the careful planning, hard work and long hours our staff spent preparing for last week’s launch.”</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>At one minute past midnight (UTC) on Thursday, 12 January, ICANN began accepting applications for new generic Top-Level Domains, beginning one of the biggest changes in the Internet’s evolution.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The new program will greatly expand the current 22 Top-Level Domains (such as .com, .gov and .net) to include almost any word or name. It also allows, for the first time, non-Latin language scripts such as Arabic, Chinese and Cyrillic to be used in a gTLD.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>“I couldn’t be more pleased,” said Michael Salazar, Director of the New gTLD program. “ICANN spent six years working to ensure it got this program right and we worked particularly hard to make certain the application portion of the program went smoothly.” </span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>As of today (January 19), there are 25 successful registrants in the online TLD Application System. However, this number does not necessarily represent the total number of applications since each registrant can apply for up to 50 new generic Top-Level Domains.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The deadline to register in the TLD Application System is 29 March. If applicants are not registered in the system by that date, they will be unable to apply.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>In early May, approximately two weeks after the new gTLD application window closes, ICANN will publish a list of the applications and who has applied for which domain name.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><em><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Until then, ICANN will not comment publicly about any specific application, the total number of applications received, or who has submitted applications.</span></em><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Initial processing of the applications is expected to be completed in mid-November 2012 and the first new generic Top-Level Domains are expected to be online sometime in early 2013.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>##</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE NEW gTLD PROGRAM:</span></strong><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><ul type=disc><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Frequently Asked Questions: <a href="http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/customer-service/faqs/faqs-en">http://newgtlds.icann.org/en/applicants/customer-service/faqs/faqs-en</a></span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Program overview: <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/gtld-facts-31jul11-en.pdf">http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/gtld-facts-31jul11-en.pdf</a></span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Information for rights holders: <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/rights-holders-with-insert-02sep11-en.pdf">http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/rights-holders-with-insert-02sep11-en.pdf</a></span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><p><strong><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>MEDIA CONTACTS: </span></strong><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-left:1.5in'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Brad White</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-left:1.5in'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Director of Global Media Affairs</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-left:1.5in'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Washington, D.C.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> Tel. +1 (202) 570 7118</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-left:1.5in'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="mailto:brad.white@icann.org">brad.white@icann.org</a></span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-left:1.5in'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Andrew Robertson</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-left:1.5in'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Edelman Public Relations</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-left:1.5in'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>London, U.K.</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-left:1.5in'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Tel. + 44 (7811) 341 945</span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='margin-left:1.5in'><span style='font-size:9.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="mailto:andrew.Robertson@edelman.com">andrew.Robertson@edelman.com</a></span><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><strong><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>About ICANN: </span></strong><em><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>ICANN’s mission is to ensure a stable, secure and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet you have to type an address into your computer - a name or a number. That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN coordinates these unique identifiers across the world. Without that coordination we wouldn't have one global Internet. ICANN was formed in 1998. It is a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation with participants from all over the world dedicated to keeping the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It promotes competition and develops policy on the Internet’s unique identifiers. ICANN doesn’t control content on the Internet. It cannot stop spam and it doesn’t deal with access to the Internet. But through its coordination role of the Internet’s naming system, it does have an important impact on the expansion and evolution of the Internet.</span></em><strong><i><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> For more information please visit: </span></i></strong><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="http://www.icann.org/"><em><b><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>www.icann.org</span></b></em></a><em><b><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>.</span></b></em><o:p></o:p></span></p><p><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'> <o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='margin-bottom:12.0pt'><o:p> </o:p></p><div><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:8.0pt;font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";color:black'>If you would rather not receive future communications from ICANN, let us know by clicking <a href="http://ICANN.pr-optout.com/OptOut.aspx?523509x19831x68028x1x3696907x24000x6&Email=anne-rachel.inne%40icann.org">here.</a><br>ICANN, 4676 Admiralty Way Suite 330, Marina del Rey, CA 90292 United States<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></body></html>