New Unicode top-level domains

ICANN has recently approved plans to allow Unicode top-level domains, this means from the 16th November you will be allowed to use non-Latin scripts in web addresses for the first time.

Peter Dengate Thrush (ICANN's chairman) said: "Right now Internet address endings are limited to Latin characters – A to Z. But the Fast Track Process is the first step in bringing the 100,000 characters of the languages of the world online for domain names."

The change covers the last part of the address - after the dot in dot-com. So the local bodies responsible for the likes of .kr and .ru will soon be able to apply for domain names in their own languages.

What is ICANN?

ICANN (or Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) is a non-profit organisation, incorporated to preform a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly on behalf of the U.S. government by other company's, especially the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).

Created on September 18th, 1998 and incorporated September 30th, 1998, the mission of ICANN is to coordinate the allocation and assignment of the three sets of unique identifiers for the Internet, which are
1. Domain names.
2. Internet protocol ("IP") addresses.
3. Protocol port and parameter numbers.

ICANN have been described as helping preserve the stability of the Internet; to promote competition; and to develop policies appropriate to its mission.

On July 1st, 2009 Rod Beckstrom was appointed as CEO/President of ICANN, succeeding Paul Twomey who served in the position from March 27th, 2003.

ICANN signed a new agreement with the United States Department of Commerce (DOC) on September 29, 2006, which gave the private organisation, full management of the Internet's system of centrally coordinated identifiers.