Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs) in progress

FYI. Good News

Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) is speeding 
up their work to introduce Internationalized Domain Names (IDNs). Icann 
has published a call for test on this issue. see 
http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-15oct07.htm

The tests are targeted toward 'full' IDNs, i.e. with TLDs in non-Latin 
scripts such as Arabic, Chinese, Cyrilic, Greek and others. Among other 
things, the tests aim essentially to
(1) "know how the URL displays in browsers" and
(2) "How this impacts the root zone"

I would like to add two comments:
About the point (1), the W3C I18N WG have already carried out a series 
of tests on how IDNs are displayed in browsers. Results are discussed in:
http://www.w3.org/International/tests/results/results-idn-IDNs
and
http://www.w3.org/International/tests/results/results-rtl-idn-display  
(for IDNs with RTL scripts)

About (2), technically there should be no problem, since IDNs are 
converted to punicode, an ASCII equivalent string, before being sent to 
DNS. Moreover, ICANN have already done a similar test in
http://www.icann.org/announcements/announcement-4-07mar07.htm
to be sure "for prudence"  if in presence of TLDs expressed in punicode, 
"DNS system as a  whole do not behave differently from its normal 
behaviour."

Yet another breaking of open doors?

Any other comment?

Best,

Najib

-- 
Najib TOUNSI (mailto:tounsi @ w3.org)
Bureau W3C au Maroc (http://www.w3c.org.ma/)
Ecole Mohammadia d'Ingenieurs, BP 765 Agdal-RABAT Maroc (Morocco)
Phone : +212 (0) 37 68 71 50 (P1711)  Fax : +212 (0) 37 77 88 53
Mobile: +212 (0) 61 22 00 30 

Received on Friday, 19 October 2007 23:22:35 UTC