Domain names 'could use non-Roman languages'

The internet could be set for one of the biggest technical changes in its 40-year history, according to reports.

For the first time, web addresses could be written completely in non-Roman languages, such as Korean, Chinese and Arabic.

Peter Dengate, chairman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN), said multiple different scripts could now be "safely and consistently" converted into web addresses.

Indeed, ICANN's board of directors plans to review measures that could enable web users to type internet domain names in different languages by the end of 2009.

Rod Beckstrom, ICANN president and chief executive officer, said the change is "very much necessary" for not only more than half of all internet users today, but more than half of all future users.

In other recent domains news, Lead Generation reported that older web addresses perform better than their younger counterparts in terms of search engine optimisation.

The site suggested, with this in mind, that it is better to register a domain sooner rather than later – potentially alluding to the use of a domain name consultancy.

Written by Debra Hastings-Henry