Korean letters may be allowed in Internet addresses next year

By Lee Youkyung
SEOUL, Oct. 26 (Yonhap) -- South Korea may start using Korean letters on Web site
addresses as early as mid-2010 if a regulator allows the move, according to
industry sources Monday.

Executives of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN),
which oversees the distribution of web and internet protocol addresses, said
their board is considering giving permission to the internationalized domain name
(IDN), which would enable non-Latin letters to be used in web addresses.
"We think there is a high chance of winning the board approval," Rod Beckstrom,
ICANN chief executive officer, told investors at the ICANN Seoul conference. The
board meeting is slated for Friday.
If the board approves the use of non-Latin letters on web addresses, the service
will become widely public midway through next year, he said.
He added that the use of non-Latin letters to surf the Internet is economical and
could trigger further innovations on the world wide web, adding that the IDN
service "could also change the way we use email."
ylee@yna.co.kr
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