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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple><div class=WordSection1><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Hi Ahmed,<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Yes, ICANN delegated the first four TLDs (all 4 are IDNs with 1 Arabic, 1 Chinese, and 2 Cyrillic) on October 23, and more is expected to be delegated in the coming weeks. In terms of web browsers, all new browsers support IDN URLs in all scripts. Some TLDs might face some problems with some web browsers, and these can be solved on 1-to-1 basis. Even some of the new ASCII TLDs need to resolve any pending issues with web browser developers (such as .sx and .ss). Overall, all web browser vendors/developers are keeping an eye on the New gTLD program so that they can update their whitelists accordingly.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>From my discussions with IDN ccTLDs in the region, I believe Egypt has the largest IDN ccTLD base with more than 3,000 registrations. Saudi Arabia and UAE have 2,000+. Some of the stumbling blocks that keep IDN registrations low are the following:<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol;color:#1F497D'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span dir=LTR></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Strict registrations policies by Registries; or<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol;color:#1F497D'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span dir=LTR></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>High pricing; or<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol;color:#1F497D'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span dir=LTR></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Preference in communicating over ASCII TLDs (I have heard tones such as “What is the added value in an IDN TLD?” or “The majority of my clients do not speak Arabic” or “Arabic?! Really?!”); or<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoListParagraph style='text-align:justify;text-indent:-.25in;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo1'><![if !supportLists]><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:Symbol;color:#1F497D'><span style='mso-list:Ignore'>·<span style='font:7.0pt "Times New Roman"'> </span></span></span><![endif]><span dir=LTR></span><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Lack of interest in IDNs since IDNs do not support global email exchange, SSL certificates, and many other online services (this is what the most complained of).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>You mentioned some of the major portals such as Google and Yahoo!. Well, if they have IDN registrations, they are mostly defensive registrations; i.e. to protect their trademark(s) from being cyber-squatted and/or infringed.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>I guess with the rollout of New gTLDs, much of the behavior we experience online will change gradually, so let us see how will major brand owners react to this. Furthermore, vendors such as Google (applicant of .google, amongst others) and Microsoft (applicant of .microsoft, amongst others) are expected to move their online presence to their own TLDs.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Finally, it is worth mentioning that there are discussions within the ICANN community to block registration of domain names that represent currently applied for TLDs (e.g. applicant of the TLD .abc gets abc.whatever blocked from any future registrations).<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>Fahd<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'>(speaking in my personal capacity)<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=MsoNormal><span style='font-size:11.0pt;font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p> </o:p></span></p><div><div style='border:none;border-top:solid #B5C4DF 1.0pt;padding:3.0pt 0in 0in 0in'><p class=MsoNormal><b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'>From:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> menog-bounces@lists.menog.org [mailto:menog-bounces@lists.menog.org] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Ahmed Abu-Abed<br><b>Sent:</b> Sunday, October 27, 2013 11:54 AM<br><b>To:</b> 'menog@menog. net'<br><b>Subject:</b> [menog] New Arabic TLD and idea's popularity<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div><div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'>ICANN is in the news with the new </span><span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL style='color:black'>شبكة</span><span dir=LTR></span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><span dir=LTR></span> TLD, see <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24637673" title="http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24637673">http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-24637673</a><o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'>I am yet to see Arabic TLDs widely implemented, although most browsers are ready, even on iOS and Android which I tested with an Arabic URL. Any idea on why is the delay in implementing Arabic URL by content providers (newspapers, etc.) ? People in the region prefer Arabic websites, so I am wondering what’s stopping content providers from having Arabic URLs.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'>Also, anyone know if major portals, like Google or Yahoo, have implemented IDNs in any language for their URL ? Something like </span><span lang=AR-SA dir=RTL style='color:black'>ياهو.شبكة</span><span dir=LTR></span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'><span dir=LTR></span> (which translates to Yahoo.net , as I cannot find an equivalent to .com as an Arabic TLD).<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'> <o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'>Best Regards,<o:p></o:p></span></p></div><div><p class=MsoNormal style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:black'>Ahmed Abu-Abed</span><span style='font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";color:#1F497D'><o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div></div></body></html>