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The Move To Non-Roman Domains
by Winter Casey
The body that manages the Internet-addressing system is working to make domain-name suffixes available in foreign-language characters as soon as possible.
The move by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is meant to let people communicate in their native alphabets and broaden user choice. But there are concerns about censorship, security and Internet control related to the new options.
Top-level domain suffixes such as ".com" and ".org" in non-Roman characters "are not being deployed with the intent for all users to have and be able to use all characters allowed in domain names," Tina Dam, ICANN's international domain name program director, wrote in a December blog post. "It is done for user choices to be made available. That is, choices that fit the local communication better than that of using the basic Latin characters that was originally the only choice for domain names."
ICANN apparently is moving too slowly for Russia. Despite the group's efforts to incorporate Russian characters into Web addresses, Foreign Policy magazine reports on its Passport blog that "Moscow is pushing for the creation of an Internet that recognizes only Cyrillic characters."
"Expert warnings echo those voiced about a Chinese Internet: increased international isolation and more government censorship of the Web," David Francis, a blogger for the magazine, wrote. "Given the wide control the Kremlin already has over media in Russia and its unwillingness to play nice with pretty much anyone these days, a separate Russian Internet might be just as dangerous a prospect as a separate Chinese one."
The Guardian noted last week that Russia's attempt for greater control over the Russian-language part of the Internet appears aimed at creating an Internet that operates "completely independent from the wider Web." RIA Novosti, meanwhile, reported that President Vladimir Putin said in October he opposes Internet censorship in Russia's domain.
Philip Corwin, a partner at the Washington-based Butera & Andrews law firm, said "censorship, security and Net controls are concerns that exist now without any [foreign-language domains] being available."
The Cyrillic translation of Russia's domain suffix, .ru, is similar in appearance to the domain name of Paraguay, The Guardian noted. That could cause security problems for Russian users. "It's not hard to see a Cyrillic phishing domain in the Paraguayan .py being used to fool Russian users," according to a column this week in eWeek.
"The key is whether Russian international domain names would use their own root [server]... independent of the existing Internet root servers, which are mainly based in the U.S.," according to The Guardian. Corwin said splitting the root by redirecting Russian users to parallel sites when they type domain names "would be a serious technical and political issue."
"Any version of .com or any other generic top-level domain, regardless of the language set, should resolve to the generic top-level domain root," said Shane Tews of VeriSign, which operates two of the Internet's 13 root servers.
According to Steve DelBianco of NetChoice, a government's ability to filter and censor Web sites isn't affected by the characters being used. Moreover, it is highly unlikely that an attempt by Russia to allow only Cyrillic characters for Web addresses would be tolerated by its own citizens.
However, "businesses that maintain Web sites today are concerned that Chinese or Russian governments will try to control equivalent domains in their own characters, such as the Chinese version of .com." DelBianco said. The Chinese government might try to assert control over conduct or content of American companies if they are forced to register Chinese versions of their current domains, he added.
Russian and Chinese government attempts to increase their control of domain suffixes could threaten private-sector management of the Internet, DelBianco said.
White House Aides To Blog From Middle East
Senior White House staffers will be posting blog-like entries about their travels to the Middle East with President Bush.
The "Notes From The Middle East" feature is the White House's first venture into the blog world. The opening entry, by Press Secretary Dana Perino, outlines the travel agenda. "Tonight, President Bush will board Air Force One to travel to Israel, the West Bank, Kuwait, Bahrain, United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt" from Tuesday through Jan. 16.
"This is new to us," Perino said at Tuesday's press briefing. "We encourage you to log on and to check back often to read some of the updates that the staff will be posting throughout the trip. So it will be just a little bit of a blog." She added that "we'll see how it goes, and then we may do it in the future as well."
According to the White House, the trip will "be an opportunity to reaffirm the enduring commitment of the United States to the security of our allies in the Middle East, especially with the Gulf nations, and our close work with them to combat terrorism and extremism, promote freedom, and seek peace and prosperity in the region."
"The meetings with leaders will allow for discussions of developments in Iraq, the challenges presented by Iran, regional security, economic ties, and relations between the United States and these close allies," the White House Web site said.
Highway Technology Down Under
The Australian government is considering using devices designed to help slow speeding cars using satellite technology, Melbourne's Herald Sun reports.
"The system uses satellite technology to track changing speed limits and click into action when a driver goes too fast," according to the news source. Talks have been underway with all of Australia's states and territories regarding the device. "Western Australia and New South Wales are also believed to be planning trials this year," the Herald Sun said.
The technology uses a global positioning system and a road-speed database that identifies speed limits. A beeping sound initially warns drivers om cars fitted with the technology to slow down when they exceed the limits.
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