Internationalized country code
Encyclopedia
An internationalized country code top-level domain (IDN ccTLD or ccIDN) is a top-level domain
(TLD) in the Domain Name System
(DNS) of the Internet
. IDN ccTLDs are specially encoded domain names that are displayed in an end user application, such as a web browser
, in their language-native script or alphabet
, such as the Arabic alphabet
, or a non-alphabetic writing system
, such as Chinese character
s. IDN ccTLDs are an application of the internationalized domain name
system to top-level Internet domains assigned to countries, or independent geographic regions.
Although the domain class uses the term code, some of these ccTLDs are not codes but full words. For example, السعودية (as-Suʻūdiyya) is not an abbreviation of "Saudi Arabia", but the common name of the country in Arabic.
Countries with internationalized ccTLDs also retain their traditional ASCII-based ccTLDs.
board approved the establishment of an internationalized top-level domain name working group within the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) in December 2006. They resolved in June 2007 inter alia
to proceed and asked the IDNC Working Group to prepare a proposal, which the group delivered in June 2008, "to recommend mechanisms to introduce a limited number of non-contentious IDN ccTLDs, associated with the ISO 3166-1 two-letter codes in a short time frame to meet near term demand." The group proposed a methodology using ICANN's Fast Track Process based on the ICANN charter to work with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
(IANA):
In October 2009, ICANN
resolved to start accepting applications for top-level internationalized domain name
s from representatives of countries and territories in November. Starting November 16, 2009, nations and territories could apply for IDN ccTLDs. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Russian Federation were among the first countries to apply for the new internationalized domain name country code top-level domains. In January 2010 ICANN announced that these countries' IDN ccTLDs were the first four new IDN ccTLDs to have passed the Fast Track String Evaluation within the domain application process. In May 2010, 21 different countries representing 11 languages, including Chinese, Russian
, Tamil
, and Thai
, had requested new IDN country codes.
On May 5, 2010, the first implementations, all in the Arabic alphabet
, were activated. Egypt was assigned the مصر.
country code, Saudi Arabia السعودية.
, and the United Arab Emirates امارات.
, (all reading right to left as is customary in Arabic). ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom
described the launch as "historic" and "a seismic shift that will forever change the online landscape." "This is the beginning of a transition that will make the Internet more accessible and user friendly to millions around the globe, regardless of where they live or what language they speak," he added. Senior director for internationalised domain names Tina Dam said it was "the most significant day" since the launch of the Internet. According to ICANN, Arabic was chosen for the initial roll out because it is one of the most widely used non-Latin languages on the Internet. There are problems entering a mixed left-to-right and right-to-left text string on a keyboard, making fully Arabic web addresses extra useful.
, four such TLDs have been implemented: three using the Arabic alphabet,
, Saudi Arabia
and the United Arab Emirates
, respectively), and one using Cyrillic,
). Five new IDN ccTLDs using Chinese characters were approved in June 2010:
),
), and with variant (for Taiwan
).
The new country codes were available for immediate use, although ICANN admit they may not work properly for all users initially. According to Egypt's communication and information technology minister, three Egyptian companies were the first to receive domain licenses on the new "masr" [مصر transliterated] country code. Egypt's Ministry of Communications was possibly the first functional website with an entirely Arabic address. The ccTLD
's
Five new ccTLDs using Chinese characters, the first using a non-alphabetic writing system
, were approved by the ICANN Board on June 25, 2010:
The dual domains delegated to each of CNNIC and TWNIC are synonymous, being purely orthographical variations differing only in using simplified forms (国 and 湾), as used in mainland China
, versus traditional forms of the same characters (國 and 灣), as preferred in Taiwan
.
Top-level domain
A top-level domain is one of the domains at the highest level in the hierarchical Domain Name System of the Internet. The top-level domain names are installed in the root zone of the name space. For all domains in lower levels, it is the last part of the domain name, that is, the last label of a...
(TLD) in the Domain Name System
Domain name system
The Domain Name System is a hierarchical distributed naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participating entities...
(DNS) of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
. IDN ccTLDs are specially encoded domain names that are displayed in an end user application, such as a web browser
Web browser
A web browser is a software application for retrieving, presenting, and traversing information resources on the World Wide Web. An information resource is identified by a Uniform Resource Identifier and may be a web page, image, video, or other piece of content...
, in their language-native script or alphabet
Alphabet
An alphabet is a standard set of letters—basic written symbols or graphemes—each of which represents a phoneme in a spoken language, either as it exists now or as it was in the past. There are other systems, such as logographies, in which each character represents a word, morpheme, or semantic...
, such as the Arabic alphabet
Arabic alphabet
The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...
, or a non-alphabetic writing system
Writing system
A writing system is a symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language.-General properties:Writing systems are distinguished from other possible symbolic communication systems in that the reader must usually understand something of the associated spoken language to...
, such as Chinese character
Chinese character
Chinese characters are logograms used in the writing of Chinese and Japanese , less frequently Korean , formerly Vietnamese , or other languages...
s. IDN ccTLDs are an application of the internationalized domain name
Internationalized domain name
An internationalized domain name is an Internet domain name that contains at least one label that is displayed in software applications, in whole or in part, in a language-specific script or alphabet, such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi or the Latin alphabet-based characters with diacritics,...
system to top-level Internet domains assigned to countries, or independent geographic regions.
Although the domain class uses the term code, some of these ccTLDs are not codes but full words. For example, السعودية (as-Suʻūdiyya) is not an abbreviation of "Saudi Arabia", but the common name of the country in Arabic.
Countries with internationalized ccTLDs also retain their traditional ASCII-based ccTLDs.
History
The ICANNICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly...
board approved the establishment of an internationalized top-level domain name working group within the Country Code Names Supporting Organization (ccNSO) in December 2006. They resolved in June 2007 inter alia
Inter Alia
-Track listing:# Inter Alia# Outfox'd # Righteous Badass # The Altogether feat. Bix, Apt, UNIVERSE ARM and Cal# The Day-to-Daily# Trouble Brewing # The Prestidigitator# The Force...
to proceed and asked the IDNC Working Group to prepare a proposal, which the group delivered in June 2008, "to recommend mechanisms to introduce a limited number of non-contentious IDN ccTLDs, associated with the ISO 3166-1 two-letter codes in a short time frame to meet near term demand." The group proposed a methodology using ICANN's Fast Track Process based on the ICANN charter to work with the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
Internet Assigned Numbers Authority
The Internet Assigned Numbers Authority is the entity that oversees global IP address allocation, autonomous system number allocation, root zone management in the Domain Name System , media types, and other Internet Protocol-related symbols and numbers...
(IANA):
- Identify technical basis of the TLD strings and country code specific processes, select IDN ccTLD personnel and authorities, and prepare documentation;
- Perform ICANN due diligence process for technical proposal and publish method;
- Enter delegation process within established IANA procedures.
In October 2009, ICANN
ICANN
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is a non-profit corporation headquartered in Marina del Rey, California, United States, that was created on September 18, 1998, and incorporated on September 30, 1998 to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly...
resolved to start accepting applications for top-level internationalized domain name
Internationalized domain name
An internationalized domain name is an Internet domain name that contains at least one label that is displayed in software applications, in whole or in part, in a language-specific script or alphabet, such as Arabic, Chinese, Russian, Hindi or the Latin alphabet-based characters with diacritics,...
s from representatives of countries and territories in November. Starting November 16, 2009, nations and territories could apply for IDN ccTLDs. Egypt, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and the Russian Federation were among the first countries to apply for the new internationalized domain name country code top-level domains. In January 2010 ICANN announced that these countries' IDN ccTLDs were the first four new IDN ccTLDs to have passed the Fast Track String Evaluation within the domain application process. In May 2010, 21 different countries representing 11 languages, including Chinese, Russian
Russian language
Russian is a Slavic language used primarily in Russia, Belarus, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. It is an unofficial but widely spoken language in Ukraine, Moldova, Latvia, Turkmenistan and Estonia and, to a lesser extent, the other countries that were once constituent republics...
, Tamil
Tamil language
Tamil is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by Tamil people of the Indian subcontinent. It has official status in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu and in the Indian union territory of Pondicherry. Tamil is also an official language of Sri Lanka and Singapore...
, and Thai
Thai language
Thai , also known as Central Thai and Siamese, is the national and official language of Thailand and the native language of the Thai people, Thailand's dominant ethnic group. Thai is a member of the Tai group of the Tai–Kadai language family. Historical linguists have been unable to definitively...
, had requested new IDN country codes.
On May 5, 2010, the first implementations, all in the Arabic alphabet
Arabic alphabet
The Arabic alphabet or Arabic abjad is the Arabic script as it is codified for writing the Arabic language. It is written from right to left, in a cursive style, and includes 28 letters. Because letters usually stand for consonants, it is classified as an abjad.-Consonants:The Arabic alphabet has...
, were activated. Egypt was assigned the مصر.
مصر.
The Arabic domain name ' is the internationalized country code top-level domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet for Egypt...
country code, Saudi Arabia السعودية.
السعودية.
The Arabic name السعودية, romanized as AlSaudiah, is the Internationalized country code top-level domain for Saudi Arabia. The ASCII name of this domain in the Domain Name System is xn--mgberp4a5d4ar, obtained by application of the Internationalizing Domain Names in Applications rules for the ...
, and the United Arab Emirates امارات.
امارات.
The Arabic name امارات, romanized as emarat, is the Internationalized country code top-level domain for the United Arab Emirates. The ASCII name of this domain in the Domain Name System of the Internet is xn--mgbaam7a8h, using the Internationalizing Domain Names in Applications procedure in the ...
, (all reading right to left as is customary in Arabic). ICANN CEO Rod Beckstrom
Rod Beckstrom
Rod Beckstrom is an author, high-tech entrepreneur, and CEO and President of ICANN.He previously served as Director of the National Cyber Security Center. Prior to that Beckstrom was Chairman and Chief Catalyst of TWIKI.NET, a company which supports TWiki, an open source wiki...
described the launch as "historic" and "a seismic shift that will forever change the online landscape." "This is the beginning of a transition that will make the Internet more accessible and user friendly to millions around the globe, regardless of where they live or what language they speak," he added. Senior director for internationalised domain names Tina Dam said it was "the most significant day" since the launch of the Internet. According to ICANN, Arabic was chosen for the initial roll out because it is one of the most widely used non-Latin languages on the Internet. There are problems entering a mixed left-to-right and right-to-left text string on a keyboard, making fully Arabic web addresses extra useful.
, four such TLDs have been implemented: three using the Arabic alphabet,
مصر., السعودية. and امارات. (for EgyptEgypt
Egypt , officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, Arabic: , is a country mainly in North Africa, with the Sinai Peninsula forming a land bridge in Southwest Asia. Egypt is thus a transcontinental country, and a major power in Africa, the Mediterranean Basin, the Middle East and the Muslim world...
, Saudi Arabia
Saudi Arabia
The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia , commonly known in British English as Saudi Arabia and in Arabic as as-Sa‘ūdiyyah , is the largest state in Western Asia by land area, constituting the bulk of the Arabian Peninsula, and the second-largest in the Arab World...
and the United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates
The United Arab Emirates, abbreviated as the UAE, or shortened to "the Emirates", is a state situated in the southeast of the Arabian Peninsula in Western Asia on the Persian Gulf, bordering Oman, and Saudi Arabia, and sharing sea borders with Iraq, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, and Iran.The UAE is a...
, respectively), and one using Cyrillic,
.рф (for RussiaRussia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
). Five new IDN ccTLDs using Chinese characters were approved in June 2010:
.中国 with variant .中國 (for mainland ChinaMainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
),
.香港 (for Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
), and with variant (for Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
).
The new country codes were available for immediate use, although ICANN admit they may not work properly for all users initially. According to Egypt's communication and information technology minister, three Egyptian companies were the first to receive domain licenses on the new "masr" [مصر transliterated] country code. Egypt's Ministry of Communications was possibly the first functional website with an entirely Arabic address. The ccTLD
.рф for Russia launched on May 13. BulgariaBulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
's
.бг is still pending.Five new ccTLDs using Chinese characters, the first using a non-alphabetic writing system
Writing system
A writing system is a symbolic system used to represent elements or statements expressible in language.-General properties:Writing systems are distinguished from other possible symbolic communication systems in that the reader must usually understand something of the associated spoken language to...
, were approved by the ICANN Board on June 25, 2010:
-
.中国(encoded as ".xn--fiqs8s") and.中國(encoded as ".xn--fiqz9s"; ".zhongguo"), delegated to China Internet Network Information CenterChina Internet Network Information CenterThe China Internet Network Information Center , or CNNIC, was founded as a non-profit organization on June 3, 1997.CNNIC is the administrative agency responsible for Internet affairs under the Ministry of Information Industry of the People's Republic of China...
(CNNIC), the registrar for ccTLD.cn;.cn.cn is the country code top-level domain for mainland China.The domain name administration in People's Republic of China is done through a branch of the Ministry of Information Industry. This ministry oversees everything from telecommunications to broadcasting similar to the Federal Communications... -
.香港(encoded as ".xn--j6w193g"; ".hongkong"), delegated to Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation (HKIRC), the registrar for ccTLD.hk;.hk.hk is the designated Internet country code top-level domain for Hong Kong. Hong Kong Internet Registration Corporation is the only organization endorsed by the Hong Kong Government to undertake the administration of 'hk' domain names... -
.台灣(encoded as ".xn--kpry57d") and.台湾(encoded as ".xn--kprw13d"; ".taiwan"), delegated to Taiwan Network Information Center (TWNIC), the registrar for ccTLD.tw..tw.tw is the Internet country code top-level domain for the Republic of China . The domain name is based on the ISO 3166-1 alpha-2 country code TW. The registry is maintained by TWNIC. Registrations are accepted by commercial registrars...
The dual domains delegated to each of CNNIC and TWNIC are synonymous, being purely orthographical variations differing only in using simplified forms (国 and 湾), as used in mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
, versus traditional forms of the same characters (國 and 灣), as preferred in Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
.
See also
- List of Internet top-level domains
- PunycodePunycodeIn computing, Punycode is an instance of a general encoding syntax by which a string of Unicode characters is transformed uniquely and reversibly into a smaller, restricted character set....