Internet Domain Name Expansion Now Underway

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced that the first new generic Top-Level Domains (gTLDs) from its New gTLD Program were delegated. This means they were introduced into the Internet's Root Zone, the central authoritative database for the Internet's Domain Name System.

As a result, the domain name Registries, the organizations approved to operate these and other soon-to-be-delegated gTLDs, can execute the final processes required to make their domain names available to Internet users. ICANN's New gTLD Program is responsible for the introductions of new gTLDs that will result in the expansion of the Domain Name System from 22 gTLDs (e.g., .COM, .NET, .ORG) to possibly 1,400 new names or "strings." The newly delegated gTLDs are in Arabic, Chinese and Cyrillic scripts. They are the first of many gTLDs in various non-Latin scripts as a demonstration of ICANN’s efforts to create a globally-inclusive Internet, regardless of language or region.