WAM Abu Dhabi, 26th May 2010 (WAM) — The Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) will launch by the end of May a new Arabic content domain (.emarat), becoming the first Arab country to obtain the approval of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers’ (ICANN). (.emarat) (.������) will be the official Arabic top level domain for the United Arab Emirates.
Mohamed Nasser Al Ghanem, Director General of the TRA, told the media today at the Emirates Palace ICANN has chosen the UAE to become the first Arab country to launch its Arabic domain name for the availability of the technical requirements and its ultra-modern telecommunications infrastructure. Rod Beckstrom, ICANN CEO was present at the press conference.
The move is part of TRA’s strategy to support and enhance Arabic content on the Internet and has been made under the new directions of ICANN, the international corporation responsible for managing the assignment of domain names and IP addresses, which allows the use of languages other than English as an equivalent to the domain names for countries. emarat” is the Arabic equivalent for the currently used domain name “.ae”.
He said the TRA has completed all technical preparations and infrastructure for the launch of the new system and coordinated with ICANN over the mechanisms of use and registration of the national domain name. An .ae Domain Administration (aeDA) was established by TRA as the Regulatory Body and Registry Operator for the .ae domain name. aeDA is responsible for enforcement of all policies reference to the operation of the .ae country code Top Level Domain (ccTLD) as well as overseeing the operation of the Registry System.
He added, “Introducing a new TLD will lead to acquiring several unique web addresses that attracts website owners and Internet users. Moreover, using the Arabic language in internet addresses is a new and unique experience.
He added that the (.emarat) was endorsed by the UAE Ministerial Council for Services as the definitive and representative domain name of the United Arab Emirates on the World Wide Web for its native language script.
Al Ghanem said this milestone will support Arabic content over the internet and build a strong identity for UAE and Arab countries across the World Wide Web.
Using an Arabic domain name would expand the number of internet users and enhance the Arabic identity of the UAE while increasing the contribution to the Arabic content available on the internet, he added.
Mohammed Gheyath, Executive Director, Technology Development Affairs, said the TRA systems have been upgraded to handle the registration of .emarat, the Arabic domain name of UAE and the goal is to become the first Arab country to introduce an Arabic domain name.
He announced the first phase of registration for the UAE domain will kick start by the end of the current month for the government entities.
”The second phase, which will start on 27th September, will be dedicated for trade marks while the third phase on 14th November will be open for distinguished names. The final phase in next December will welcome all parties,”he added.
WAM/TF
Source : http://www.wam.org.ae/servlet/Satellite?c=WamLocEnews&cid=1273559332397&p=1135099400124&pagename=WAM/WamLocEnews/W-T-LEN-FullNews
