SEOUL – Later this month, internet addresses containing non-Latin characters will begin appearing online, thanks to a new initiative approved last week by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers.“The coming introduction of non-Latin characters represents the biggest technical change to the internet since it was created four decades ago,” ICANN Chairman Peter Dengate Thrush said. “Right now internet address endings are limited to Latin characters A to Z. But the Fast Track Process is the first step in bringing the 100,000 characters of the languages of the world online for domain names.”

ICANN’s Fast Track Process launches Nov. 16. It will allow nations and territories to apply for internet extensions reflecting their identity and composed of characters from their national language. If the applications meet criteria including government and community support and a stability evaluation, applicants will be approved to start accepting registrations immediately thereafter.

“This is only the first step, but it is an incredibly big one and an historic move toward the internationalization of the internet,” said Rod Beckstrom, ICANN’s president and chief executive officer. “The first countries that participate will not only be providing valuable information of the operation of [international domain names] in the domain name system, they are also going to help to bring the first of billions more people online – people who never use Roman characters in their daily lives.”

IDNs have been a topic of discussion since before ICANN’s inception. After years of intense technical testing, policy development and global co-operation, they will be the first new aspects of the domain-name system to be offered via the Fast Track Process. Later additions are expected to include virtually unlimited domain extensions.

“Our work on IDNs has gone through numerous drafts, dozens of tests and an incredible amount of development by volunteers since we started this project,” ICANN Senior Director for IDNs Tina Dam said. “Today is the first step in moving from planning and implementation to the real launch. The launch of the Fast Track Process will be an amazing change to make the internet an even more valuable tool, and for even more people around the globe.”

More information about the Fast Track program is available at http://icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-30oct09-en.htm target=new>ICANN’s website.