The first non-Latin script domains are now online courtesy of ICANN with Arabic script now being allowed.
Egypt’s Ministry of Communications site at http://موقع.وزارة-الأتصالات.مصر/ already has taken advantage of the changes. You will be able to see and open the arabic websites if your browser allows IDN support. Upto now, only Latin script had been the only allowed by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers. There has been alot of cry for non latin characters’ domains to be allowed.
New top-level domains have been reserved for Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and The United Arab Emirates . Languages with native domain script names in the final stages of the approval process include Chinese, Sinhalese, Tamil and Thai, according to ICANN.
“All three are Arabic script domains, and will enable domain names written fully right-to-left,” Kim Davies of ICANN said Thursday in a blog post.
“Expect more as we continue to process other applications.”
Egypt claimed the first non-Latin script Website in a new “.Masr” domain.
Websites with online addresses in Arabic are available in Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
“Arabic is among the most highly used languages on the Internet today,” ICANN said.
“Users in the (Middle East) will now have easier access to the Internet, with the ability to use their primary language for the entire domain name.”
More from: Agence France-Presse
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