Internationalized Domain Names

Mary Bowling | 9 March 2006 |

English has always been the standard language for URL’s and many people around the world must struggle not only with a foreign language, but also with unfamiliar letters and symbols when typing URLs. Just imagine yourself trying to type a URL into the address bar in Hebrew or Arabic.

IDN stands for Internationalized Domain Name. Sometimes referred to as multilingual domain names, IDNs are URLs in languages other than English. Firefox users may be familiar with them, but their use will likely explode later this year with Microsoft’s release of the newest version of the world’s most popular browser, Internet Explorer.

Currently, speculators are snatching up IDNs. Imagine, for example, owning the Japanese version of www.hotels.com or www.sanfranciscohotel.com. Right now, no one can tell where this may lead - it could be a smart move or it could fizzle out. We’ll keep you posted through this blog as we start seeing strong indicators of where this trend is headed.

For information on how to register for Internationalized Domain Names and why you might want to, please go to http://idners.com.

Mary Bowling - Blizzard Internet Marketing, Inc.