GMail will support IDN address

Whether your email address is firstname.lastname@ or something more expressive like corgicrazy@, an email address says something about who you are. But from the start, email addresses have always required you to use non-accented Latin characters when signing up. Less than half of the world’s population has a mother tongue that uses the Latin alphabet. And even fewer people use only the letters A-Z. So if your name (or that of your favorite pet) contains accented characters (like “José Ramón”) or is written in another script like Chinese or Devanagari, your email address options are limited.

But all that could change. In 2012, an organization called the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) created a new email standard that supports addresses with non-Latin and accented Latin characters (e.g. 武@メール.グーグル). In order for this standard to become a reality, every email provider and every website that asks you for your email address must adopt it. That’s obviously a tough hill to climb. The technology is there, but someone has to take the first step.

Today we’re ready to be that someone. Starting now, Gmail (and shortly, Calendar) will recognize addresses that contain accented or non-Latin characters. This means Gmail users can send emails to, and receive emails from, people who have these characters in their email addresses. Of course, this is just a first step and there’s still a ways to go. In the future, we want to make it possible for you to use them to create Gmail accounts.

Last month, we announced the addition of 13 new languages in Gmail. Language should never be a barrier when it comes to connecting with others and with this step forward, truly global email is now even closer to becoming a reality.

Popular Mail Client will support IDN in a new version

Starting with the version 6.0 The Bat! supports IDN (Internationalized Domain Names)

IDN (Internationalized Domain Names) are the domain names that contain national alphabet characters. The names composed from the characters of the non-latin alphabets, such as Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, Greek, etc., as well as the Latin alphabet-based characters with diacritics, such as French, German etc. are related to such domain names. Thus, The Bat! can process any addresses containing national alphabet characters. At the present time The Bat! v6 is at the stage of Alpha testing. You can take part in testing and discussing this version subscribing to the mailing list.

Verisign’s IDN Implementation Plans

The composition of the Internet’s population has seen a dramatic shift over the last two decades. In 1996, the majority of end users were based in the U.S.; according to a 2012 Comscore report, the non-English speaking Internet population has grown to 87 percent, with more than 40 percent based in the Asia-Pacific region. In order to embrace this population shift, we believe the Internet must become multilingual so it can be accessible and relevant to the majority of end users today.

By enabling more end users to navigate the Internet in scripts representing their native language and more companies to maintain a common brand identity across many scripts, IDNs have the potential to make the Internet more accessible and thus usable to end users around the world. This accessibility is why IDNs have generated considerable attention since Verisign introduced IDNs at the second-level in 2000.

As you may already know, last year Verisign applied for 12 transliterations of .com and .net through ICANN’s new gTLD program:

We worked with linguistic experts to identify regionally specific transliterations that represent a localized version of .com and .net into one of several non-Latin scripts.  Although transliterations are not direct translations of the strings .com and .net, based on our research into the regional markets, we determined these transliterations to be good options for representing .com or .net in the local script.

We believe this approach will provide the greatest consistency to users, help avoid end-user confusion, and foster trust and ubiquity for IDNs.

Recently, Verisign announced details about our IDN.IDN implementation plans. Through this approach, a registrant of an IDN.com or IDN.net or registrant in one of our new IDN TLDs will have the sole right, subject to applicable rights protection mechanisms, but not be required to register the same second level name across all or any of our IDN TLDS, including .com or .net TLD as applicable.

While further details can be found in our notification letter to ICANN, below are two use cases that illustrate our approach:

 

  • Use Case No. 1: Bob Smith already has a registration for an IDN.net second level domain name.  That second level domain name will be unavailable in all of the new .net TLDs except to Bob Smith. Bob Smith may choose not to register that second level domain name in any of the new transliterations of the .net TLDs.
  • Use Case No. 2:  John Doe does not have a registration for an IDN.com second level domain name.  John Doe registers a second level domain name in our Thai transliteration of .com but in no other TLD. That second level domain name will be unavailable in all other transliterations of .com IDN TLDs and in the .com registry unless and until John Doe (and only John Doe) registers it in another .com IDN TLD or in the .com registry.

Two primary objectives in our strategy to implement new IDN gTLDs are, where feasible, to avoid costs to consumers and businesses from purely defensive registrations in these new TLDs, as well as to avoid end-user confusion. We believe this implementation strategy will be an important benefit to the community and will help create a ubiquitous user experience.

In addition to serving as the registry operator for .com and .net with a record of maintaining 100 percent uninterrupted availability for more than 15 years, Verisign is a participant in, and contributor to, the new gTLD program, with 14 direct applications and as a back-end registry services provider for new gTLD applicants representing approximately 200 strings. As such, security, stability and resiliency remains Verisign’s primary focus as the company prepares for the IDN TLD launch.

ICANN: String Similarity IDN Variant Review Results

In an announcement on 26 February 2013, ICANN published a list of string similarity contention sets wherein two or more applied-for gTLD strings are identical or so nearly resemble one another visually that they are likely to cause confusion. In ICANN’s New gTLD program, string similarity checks on Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) strings go beyond visual resemblance. The string similarity panel has now completed a review of potential IDN variant characters. Based on this review, two (2) contention sets of potential IDN variant strings have been identified.

U-Label Unicode Code Points A-Label Application ID
盛贸饭店
盛貿飯店
U+76DB, U+8D38, U+996D, U+5E97
U+76DB, U+8CBF, U+98EF, U+5E97
xn--hxt035czzpffl
xn--hxt035cmppuel
1-940-43388
1-940-75591
点看
點看
U+70B9, U+770B
U+9EDE, U+770B
xn--3pxu8k
xn--c1yn36f
1-1254-85868
1-1254-86222

As per section 1.3.3 of the Applicant Guidebook “Multiple applicants apply for strings that are identified by ICANN as variants of one another. These applications will be placed in a contention set and will follow the contention resolution procedures in Module 4.” For more information and the procedures used to perform the IDN variant review see the IDN Variant TLDs – Integrated Issues Report, Appendix 5 at http://www.icann.org/en/topics/idn/idn-vip-integrated-issues-final-clean-20feb12-en.pdf [PDF, 2.1 MB].

The IDN Variant TLD Program is tasked to develop solutions and define necessary processes that must be in place to enable future delegation of IDN variant TLDs. More information about this program can be found at: http://www.icann.org/en/resources/idn/variant-tlds

View all String Contention Sets: PDF [167 KB], CSV [67 KB]

ICANN: IDN ccTLD Request From Sudan Successfully Passes String Evaluation

ICANN is pleased to announce the successful completion of String Evaluation on proposed IDN ccTLD string for Sudan.

Details of the successful evaluation are provided here: http://www.icann.org/en/resources/idn/fast-track/string-evaluation-completion/s

The IDN (Internationalized Domain Name) ccTLD Fast Track Process was approved by the ICANN Board at its annual meeting in Seoul, South Korea on 30 October 2009. First requests were received starting 16 November 2009. The process enables countries and territories to submit requests to ICANN for IDN ccTLDs, representing their respective country or territory names in scripts other than Latin. IDN ccTLD requesters must fulfill a number of requirements:

  • the script used to represent the IDN ccTLDs must be non-Latin;
  • the languages used to express the IDN ccTLDs must be official in the corresponding country or territory; and
  • a specific set of technical requirements must be met (as evaluated by an external DNS Stability Panel comprised of DNS and IDN experts).

Google Registers 18 IDN Domains

National Business Daily reported:  18 domain names registered by Internet giant which included

adsense.中国、adwords.中国、android.中国、blogspot.中国、chrome.中国、chromium.中国、 doubleclick.中国、gmail.中国、google.中国、googlemail.中国、googlemaps.中国、 googleplus.中国、igoogle.中国、nexus.中国、orkut.中国、picasa.中国、postini.中国、youtube. 中国

.中国 is the Chinese IDN ccTLD.

The well-known IT commentator Cao Yueping says 18 domain registrations is a signal that China is still remains as a key market for Google. China Mobile Internet Industry Alliance Secretary-General Lee Yi says that is just a protective registration. However Google declined to comment.

EURid, UNESCO to present report on IDNs

The .eu registry EURid and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) will present on 6 November a report on the global uptake of Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs).

The study is planned to go out at the 7th Internet Governance Forum (IGF) meeting in Baku, Azerbaijan and it will present updates to the report published in 2011 on the global use of Internationalised domain names which support non-Latin scripts and multilingualism online.

IDNs* have become strongly linked with Internet governance discussions on multilingualism. Of approximately 6 000 languages in the world, only 12 languages accounted for 98% of Internet web pages in 2008, while, according to UNESCO data, English was the dominant language online with 72% of web pages.

According to last year’s joint report, the introduction of IDNs in the Internet root domain was an important milestone in the development of multilingualism on the Internet, especially for non-Latin scripts, including Arabic and Cyrillic.

In addition, the study concluded that IDNs were only one factor in achieving a multilingual Internet, but there was what more to be done to achieve this aim, including securing basic Internet access for the majority of the world’s population, as well as strengthening the environment for creating local language content.

Furthermore, the links between IDN registrations and local languages were classified as ‘strong’, as for example the intensity of .eu IDN registrations in Greece (Greek script) and Bulgaria (Cyrillic script).

Last but not least, it was suggested that implementation of key services like email would further benefit uptake, making IDNs fully useable.

On the other hand, keeping in mind that by 2016 around 50% of the world population is expected to be also internet users, the threats associated with growth of domain names increase. Among the most common threats associated with growth of domain names include phishing, counterfeiting and digital piracy.

Interest towards domain names is definitely growing with every single year. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) for example published in June this year a list containing more than 1 900 new domain name suggestions. Out of the 1 900 new suggestions, only 166 were of non-Latin scripts.

by Stanislava Gaydazhieva

ICANN: IDN Variant TLD Program Update

The IDN Variant TLD Program has the following two updates:

  1. Volunteer Team formed to assist the development of the Label Generation Ruleset Process for the Domain Name System (DNS) Root Zone

    ICANN is pleased to announce the formation of a global volunteer team, comprised of community experts, who will work with ICANN on the project to define the Label Generation Ruleset Process for the DNS root zone. This project is part of the IDN Variant TLD Program (see below) that is intended to lead to the delegation of IDN Variant TLDs.  Delegation of these types of IDN TLDs is expected to broaden global participation in the domain name system, but must be accomplished in a way that ensures good user experience.

    This particular project will develop  the process to define allowed code points, corresponding exchangeable variant code points, and related allowed states for IDN Variant TLDs.

    The project requires significant technical expertise and the individual members of the volunteer team (listed below) possess capabilities in IDNA, Domain Name System, Linguistics, Unicode and Policy Development.

    The volunteer team will undertake the work through periodic teleconference calls and two face-to-face meetings. The first meeting will be on 29-30 August 2012 in Los Angeles, United States. The second two-day working session is planned during the ICANN meeting in Toronto, Canada. There will be an open public session in the Toronto meeting at which ICANN staff and volunteer team representatives will present an update on the progress and answer questions. Read the rest of this entry »

ICANN: New IDN gTLD Applied-For Strings

 

String [1] Applicant Location [2] Community? [3] Geographic? [4]
дети The Foundation for Network Initiatives “The Smart Internet” RU
католик Pontificium Consilium de Comunicationibus Socialibus (PCCS) (Pontifical Council for Social Communication) VA Yes
ком VeriSign Sarl CH
москва Foundation for Assistance for Internet Technologies and Infrastructure Development (FAITID) RU Yes
онлайн CORE Association CH
орг Public Interest Registry US
рус Rusnames Limited RU Yes
сайт CORE Association CH
קוֹם VeriSign Sarl CH
ابوظبي Abu Dhabi Systems and Information Centre AE Yes
اتصالات Emirates Telecommunications Corporation (trading as Etisalat) AE
ارامكو Aramco Services Company US
العليان Olayan Investments Company Establishment LI
بازار CORE Association CH
بيتك Kuwait Finance House KW
شبكة International Domain Registry Pty. Ltd. AU
عرب League of Arab States EG
كاثوليك Pontificium Consilium de Comunicationibus Socialibus (PCCS) (Pontifical Council for Social Communication) VA Yes
كوم VeriSign Sarl CH
كيوتل Qatar Telecom (Qtel) QA
موبايلي GreenTech Consultancy Company W.L.L. BH
موزايك Qatar Telecom (Qtel) QA
موقع Suhub Electronic Establishment SA
همراه Asia Green IT System Bilgisayar San. ve Tic. Ltd. Sti. TR
कॉम VeriSign Sarl CH
नेट VeriSign Sarl CH
संगठन Public Interest Registry US
คอม VeriSign Sarl CH
みんな Charleston Road Registry Inc. US
アマゾン Amazon EU S.à r.l. LU
クラウド Amazon EU S.à r.l. LU
グーグル Charleston Road Registry Inc. US
コム VeriSign Sarl CH
ストア Amazon EU S.à r.l. LU
セール Amazon EU S.à r.l. LU
ファッション Amazon EU S.à r.l. LU
ポイント Amazon EU S.à r.l. LU
一号店 Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. US
世界 Stable Tone Limited HK
中信 CITIC Group Corporation CN
中文网 TLD REGISTRY LIMITED IE
亚马逊 Amazon EU S.à r.l. LU
企业 Dash McCook, LLC US
佛山 Guangzhou YU Wei Information Technology Co., Ltd. CN Yes
信息 Afilias Limited IE
信息 Beijing Tele-info Network Technology Co., Ltd. CN
健康 Stable Tone Limited HK
八卦 Zodiac Scorpio Limited HK
公司 Computer Network Information Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences (China Internet Network Information Center) CN
公益 China Organizational Name Administration Center CN
商城 Zodiac Capricorn Limited HK
商店 Wild Island, LLC US
商标 HU YI GLOBAL INFORMATION RESOURCES(HOLDING) COMPANY.HONGKONG LIMITED HK
嘉里 Kerry Trading Co. Limited HK
嘉里大酒店 Kerry Trading Co. Limited HK
在线 TLD REGISTRY LIMITED IE
大众汽车 Volkswagen (China) Investment Co., Ltd. CN Yes
大拿 VeriSign Sarl CH
天主教 Pontificium Consilium de Comunicationibus Socialibus (PCCS) (Pontifical Council for Social Communication) VA Yes
娱乐 Morden Media Limited KY
娱乐 Will Bloom, LLC US
家電 Amazon EU S.à r.l. LU
工行 Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Limited CN
广东 Xinhua News Agency Guangdong Branch 新华通讯社广东分社 CN Yes Yes
广东 Guangzhou YU Wei Information Technology Co., Ltd. CN Yes
广州 Guangzhou YU Wei Information Technology Co., Ltd. CN Yes
微博 Sina Corporation CN
微博 Tencent Holdings Limited CN
慈善 Excellent First Limited KY
我爱你 Tycoon Treasure Limited KY
手机 Beijing RITT-Net Technology Development Co., Ltd CN
手表 Richemont DNS Inc. CH
招聘 HU YI GLOBAL INFORMATION RESOURCES (HOLDING) COMPANY. HONGKONG LIMITED HK
政务 China Organizational Name Administration Center CN Yes
政府 Net-Chinese Co., Ltd. TW
新闻 Xinhua News Agency Guangdong Branch 新华通讯社广东分社 CN
时尚 RISE VICTORY LIMITED CN
普利司通 Bridgestone Corporation JP
書籍 Amazon EU S.à r.l. LU
机构 Public Interest Registry US
机构体制 Public Interest Registry US
欧莱雅 L’Oréal FR
淡马锡 Temasek Holdings (Private) Limtied SG
深圳 Guangzhou YU Wei Information Technology Co., Ltd. CN Yes
游戏 Spring Fields, LLC US
点看 VeriSign Sarl CH
珠宝 Richemont DNS Inc. CH
盛貿飯店 Shangri‐La International Hotel Management Limited HK
盛贸饭店 Shangri‐La International Hotel Management Limited HK
移动 Afilias Limited IE
网址 HU YI GLOBAL INFORMATION RESOURCES (HOLDING) COMPANY. HONGKONG LIMITED HK
网址 Top Level Domain Holdings Limited VG
网店 Global eCommerce TLD Asia Limited HK
网店 Zodiac Libra Limited HK
网站 RISE VICTORY LIMITED CN
网站 Global Website TLD Asia Limited HK
网络 Computer Network Information Center of Chinese Academy of Sciences (China Internet Network Information Center) CN
联通 China United Network Communications Corporation Limited CN
诺基亚 Nokia Corporation FI
谷歌 Charleston Road Registry Inc. US
购物 Top Level Domain Holdings Limited VG
通用电气公司 GE GTLD Holdings LLC US
通販 Amazon EU S.à r.l. LU
集团 Eagle Horizon Limited KY
電訊盈科 PCCW Enterprises Limited HK
飞利浦 Koninklijke Philips Electronics N.V. NL
食品 Amazon EU S.à r.l. LU
餐厅 HU YI GLOBAL INFORMATION RESOURCES (HOLDING) COMPANY. HONGKONG LIMITED HK
香格里拉 Shangri‐La International Hotel Management Limited HK
香港電訊 PCCW-HKT DataCom Services Limited HK
點看 VeriSign Sarl CH
닷넷 VeriSign Sarl CH
닷컴 VeriSign Sarl CH
삼성 SAMSUNG SDS CO., LTD KR
  1. String [1]: ASCII or Unicode for IDN strings
  2. Location [2]: Indicated by applicant as primary country of business. Two-letter country code is based on ISO 3166-1 code lists. See http://www.iso.org/iso/country_codes/iso_3166_code_lists/country_names_and_code_elements.htm
  3. Community? [3]: Based on applicant’s answer to question 19
  4. Geographic? [4]: Based on applicant’s answer to question 21

Verisign Announces Participation in ICANN’s New gTLD Program

RESTON, VA — (Marketwire) — 06/13/12 — VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN), the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world, today announced that the Company applied for nine Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) transliterations of .com and three IDN transliterations of .net. These applications represent 12 of the 14 new generic Top Level Domain (gTLD) applications that Verisign submitted through the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) new gTLD program.

“Verisign welcomes the opportunity to participate in the global market growth for domain names and registry services that ICANN’s new gTLD program will bring. We believe our experience will serve businesses and consumers who demand greater performance and reliability from Internet infrastructure,” said Jim Bidzos, chairman and chief executive officer of Verisign.

Verisign applied for IDN transliterations of .com in the following nine non-Latin based scripts: Arabic, Cyrillic, Devanagari (Indian), Hangul (Korean), Hebrew, Hiragana and Katakana (Japanese), Simplified Chinese, Thai and Traditional Chinese. Verisign also applied for IDN transliterations of .net in Devanagari, Hangul and Simplified Chinese scripts.

“Internationalized Domain Names will make the Internet more personal to end users around the world by allowing them to identify themselves using their native language scripts,” said Pat Kane, senior vice president and general manager of Naming Services at Verisign. “These non-Latin-based transliterations of .com and .net should provide new opportunities and more choices for global Internet users.”

In addition to the 12 IDN transliterations of .com and .net, Verisign applied for .verisign and .comsec.

Finally, as previously announced, applicants for approximately 220 new gTLDs selected Verisign to provide back-end registry services.

About Verisign
VeriSign, Inc. (NASDAQ: VRSN) is the trusted provider of Internet infrastructure services for the networked world. Billions of times each day, Verisign helps companies and consumers all over the world connect between the dots. Additional news and information about the company is available at www.VerisignInc.com.