Homepage Feature

First non-Latin web addresses go live

Audio: Play | Download

Audio clip: Adobe Flash Player (version 9 or above) is required to play this audio clip. Download the latest version here. You also need to have JavaScript enabled in your browser.

Download MP3
Arab nations are leading a “historic” charge to make the world wide web live up to its name. Net regulator Icann has switched on a system that allows full web addresses that contain no Latin characters. Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates are the first countries to have so-called “country codes” written in Arabic scripts. The move is the first step to allow web addresses in many scripts including Chinese, Thai and Tamil. More than 20 countries have requested approval for international domains from the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann). Marco Werman has more.

• BBC coverage
• Icann
• Egyptian Ministry of Technology (Arabic script)

Read the Transcript
This text below is a phonetic transcript of a radio story broadcast by PRI’s THE WORLD. It has been created on deadline by a contractor for PRI. The transcript is included here to facilitate internet searches for audio content. Please report any transcribing errors to theworld@pri.org. This transcript may not be in its final form, and it may be updated. Please be aware that the authoritative record of material distributed by PRI’s THE WORLD is the program audio.

MARCO WERMAN:  A quick note now on a big change today for internet users, at least for those who use languages that are not written with Latin script characters.  Until today, web addresses could only be spelled out in Latin script.  The letters used in say English or Spanish.  Now the body that regulates the internet, ICANN, has switched on a system that allows for web addresses written in other scripts, including Chinese and Arabic.  Egypt, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates became the first to have country codes in Arabic script.  ICANN says the move is intended to make the web more global and accessible for everyone.

Copyright ©2009 PRI’s THE WORLD. All rights reserved. No quotes from the materials contained herein may be used in any media without attribution to PRI’s THE WORLD. This transcript may not be reproduced, in whole or in part, without prior written permission. For further information, please email The World’s Permissions Coordinator at theworld@pri.org.