CYBERSPACE — The Associated Press reports that ICANN likely will vote on whether to approve the .xxx sTLD as proposed by ICM Registry at the internet-oversight organization’s meeting next week in Lisbon, Portugal.Penned by AP Internet writer Anick Jesdanun, the article does not directly quote any ICANN official as stating that a vote is likely at the Lisbon meeting, saying only that ICANN has “indicated it would be ready to vote at a public meeting next Friday in Lisbon, Portugal.”

The article also notes that “delays are possible if ICANN’s Governmental Advisory Committee [GAC] raises last-minute objections.”

One source for the AP article may be the ICANN’s “preliminary report” regarding the special meeting of the ICANN board held March 13th. Judging by the text of that report as published on the ICANN website, it appears there is some confusion on the part of the ICANN board as to whether or not concerns previously expressed by the GAC have been addressed.

“John Jeffrey advised that it was an open question as to whether the GAC Communiqué in Wellington was intended to address the current proposed contract for the creation of the .XXX domain,” the report states. “He noted that the letter from Sharil [Mohammed Sharil Tarmizi, GAC Liaison] and from Janis Karklins of February 2, 2007 had indicated that further advice would be sought at ICANN’s Lisbon meeting. GAC Chair-Elect and GAC Liaison-Elect, Janis Karklins pointed out that the letter had been written with the input of a number of delegates of the GAC endorsed by using silent procedure on the GAC mailing list, but always in the understanding that further input would be discussed by the full GAC at the GAC meeting to be held in Lisbon. Janis further indicated that it remained unclear on whether there would be any additional advice from the GAC during Lisbon or at any time in the future, noting the strong stated positions of some GAC Members on this issue.”

At the meeting, ICANN Board Chair Vint Cerf “asked whether the board was of a mind to vote at this meeting,” and “called for a vote to determine whether members were prepared to vote at this meeting.”

The preliminary report notes that following a “roll call vote” on whether the board was ready to have a vote on the measure, a “number of Board members including Peter Dengate-Thrush, Roberto Gaetano, Vanda Scartezini and Rajasekhar Ramaraj believed that it was not appropriate to vote until after the Lisbon meeting given its proximity.”

The conclusion of the portion of the preliminary report relevant to the .xxx proposal suggests that the board will take actions that pave the way for a vote to take place at the Lisbon meeting, but stops short of indicating that such a vote necessarily will take place.

“The Chairman asked if the Board would be prepared to vote on this matter at the Lisbon meeting and suggested that it would be useful for the Board Members to engage in additional deliberation on the materials already received and that they spend time setting out their positions in writing and reaching a clear rationale regarding to any proposed board action,” the report states, continuing that the “ Chairman asked Board Members to make contributions to the preparation of these positions for the Lisbon Meeting discussions.”

The ICANN meeting in Lisbon starts Monday, March 26th, will conclude Friday, March 30th.

For the full text of the AP article, refer to: http://www.businessweek.com/ap/financialnews/D8O21NQG3.htm

For the full text of the ICANN preliminary report on the March 13th meeting, check out: http://icann.org/minutes/prelim-report-13mar07.htm