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</o:shapelayout></xml><![endif]--></head><body bgcolor=white 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'>Friends and Colleagues,<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 am pleased to share with you the final version of the Middle East and Adjoining Countries DNS Study that was undertaken by the EURid Consortium.<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'>Happy reading, and happy to take any questions you may have.<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'>Thank you,<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 Batayneh<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'>ICANN<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"'>Sent:</span></b><span style='font-size:10.0pt;font-family:"Tahoma","sans-serif"'> Saturday, February 27, 2016 2:51 AM<br><b>Subject:</b> ICANN News Alert -- ICANN Announces the Release of "Middle East DNS Study"<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div><p class=MsoNormal><o:p> </o:p></p><div style='border:solid #CCCCCC 1.0pt;padding:8.0pt 8.0pt 8.0pt 8.0pt'><div><p class=MsoNormal><a href="http://www.icann.org/"><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif";text-decoration:none'><img border=0 width=94 height=94 id="_x0000_i1026" src="cid:image001.jpg@01D17135.7048CE40" alt=ICANN></span></a><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><o:p></o:p></span></p><h2 style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>News Alert<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:0in;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:7.5pt;margin-left:0in;text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><a href="https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2016-02-26-en">https://www.icann.org/news/announcement-2016-02-26-en</a><o:p></o:p></span></p><div style='margin-top:15.0pt'><div class=MsoNormal align=center style='text-align:center'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'><hr size=2 width="100%" align=center></span></div></div><h2 style='margin-bottom:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>ICANN Announces the Release of "Middle East DNS Study"<o:p></o:p></span></h2><p style='mso-margin-top-alt:11.25pt;margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:0in;margin-left:0in;margin-bottom:.0001pt;text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>26 February 2016<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announces the publication of the <a href="https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/meac-dns-study-26feb16-en.pdf">final report</a> [PDF, 8.38 MB] on the Domain Name System (DNS) for the Middle East and Adjoining Countries (MEAC). "Middle East DNS Study" was completed after receiving feedback on the initial draft, which was published before the ICANN54 meeting in Dublin.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The report will be discussed at ICANN55 at the <a href="https://meetings.icann.org/en/marrakech55/schedule/tue-middle-east-dns">DNS Industry in the Middle East</a> session on Tuesday, 8 March, from 16:30–18:00 (WET).<o:p></o:p></span></p><h3 style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Report Findings<o:p></o:p></span></h3><p style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The report presents findings on the current state of the Internet and the domain name industry in the MEAC region, including:<o:p></o:p></span></p><ul type=disc><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Best practices that have affected the growth in domain names<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Business potentials in the domain name market<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Domain name industry and registration data in the wider context of the region's Internet development<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Internet usage patterns and user preferences<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Region's hosting industry<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Importance of local language content<o:p></o:p></span></li><li class=MsoNormal style='mso-margin-top-alt:auto;mso-margin-bottom-alt:auto;text-align:justify;mso-list:l0 level1 lfo3'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Recommended to stimulate wider uptake<o:p></o:p></span></li></ul><h3 style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Research Team and Methods<o:p></o:p></span></h3><p style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>ICANN selected a consortium led by the .eu Registry (EURid), with support from Emily Taylor Internet Research, Abu-Ghazaleh Intellectual Property and Oxford Information Labs, to conduct the DNS study.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>The report, based on qualitative and quantitative data gathered in 2015, draws on relevant benchmarks and best practices developed in the global ccTLD environment. The data presented in this report was gathered from a variety of sources, including a specially commissioned multi-country user survey, direct contact with ccTLD registries and registrars, and extensive data analysis of the gTLD open zone files.<o:p></o:p></span></p><p style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>Final "<a href="https://www.icann.org/en/system/files/files/meac-dns-study-26feb16-en.pdf">Middle East DNS Study</a>" [PDF, 8.38 MB].<o:p></o:p></span></p><p class=floatcenter><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>###<o:p></o:p></span></p><h3 style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>About ICANN<o:p></o:p></span></h3><p style='text-align:justify'><span style='font-family:"Arial","sans-serif"'>ICANN's mission is to help ensure a stable, secure and unified global Internet. To reach another person on the Internet, you have to type an address into your computer - a name or a number. That address has to be unique so computers know where to find each other. ICANN helps coordinate and support these unique identifiers across the world. ICANN was formed in 1998 as a not-for-profit public-benefit corporation and a community with participants from all over the world. ICANN and its community help keep the Internet secure, stable and interoperable. It also promotes competition and develops policy for the top-level of the Internet's naming system and facilitates the use of other unique Internet identifiers. For more information please visit: <a href="https://www.icann.org/">www.icann.org</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></p></div></div></div></body></html>