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Non-English Internet domains approved
(Agencies)
Updated: 2009-10-30 13:12

SEOUL, South Korea: The nonprofit body that oversees Internet addresses has approved the use of Hebrew, Hindi, Korean and other scripts not based on the Latin alphabet in a decision that could make the Web dramatically more inclusive.

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The board of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers - or ICANN - voted Friday to allow such scripts in so-called domain names at a meeting in South Korea's capital.

The decision was widely expected and follows years of debate and testing.

It clears the way for governments or their designees to submit requests for specific names, likely beginning November 16. Internet users could start seeing them in use early next year, particularly in Arabic, Chinese and other scripts in which demand has been among the highest, ICANN officials say.