[October 12, 2010] NITC announces launch of Jordan's Arabic top-level domain Tweet AMMAN, Oct 12, 2010 (Jordan Times - McClatchy-Tribune Information Services via COMTEX) -- The National Information Technology Centre (NITC) on Monday announced the launch of Jordan's Arabic top-level domain: .OU"OOOU (.alordon). The launch of the new top-level domain will help increase Internet penetration in the country from 30 per cent currently to 50 per cent by the beginning of 2012, NITC General Manager Nabeel Al Fayoumi told The Jordan Times on the sidelines of the MENA ICT Forum 2010, which concluded Monday. In Internet parlance, top-level domains, or TLDs, are the last label of a fully qualified domain name and the end of a URL, according to web sources. Common TLDs include .com, .org, .net, and Latin-alphabet country codes like .jo. "By launching the domain in Arabic, we will be able to reach a larger number of people and encourage them to use the Internet. Currently, those who do not know English might find it difficult to surf certain websites, but when the domains are in Arabic, they will find it more convenient to use the web," Fayoumi said. He added that the first Arabic domain name launched in Jordan is His Majesty King Abdullah's website, adding that all websites of ministries and public agencies and educational institutions will soon have Arabic domain names. "Jordan is the fourth Arab state to launch domains in Arabic," Fayoumi, said, adding that the plan is to have about 9,000 websites with Arabic domain names by the end of 2011. In a press conference Monday, Minister of Information and Communications Technology Marwan Juma stressed the significance of launching the Arabic TLD in Jordan. "The decision to widen the language scope of the Internet will have a landmark impact on how the Internet will be received not only in Jordan but around the world. This comes at a critical time when expanding the language of the Internet is vital to its growth and reception to all users." The efforts to launch the TLD came as a result of the need to develop a means to further encourage Internet use and increase its dissemination to local communities. Research has indicated that 80 per cent of Internet users do not know English, but 80 per cent of Internet content is in English, according to a statement released by forum organisers. Jordan has been keen to increase Internet penetration by bridging gaps that prevent inaccessibility, organisers said, adding that NITC recognised the need to submit a formal request to reserve a top-level domain under the name .OU"OOOU Its efforts culminated when the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the entity in charge of introducing new TLDs, approved the proposed top-level domain .OU"OOOU, which was initiated on August 20, 2010. After the launch, registration will be open to government institutes and ministries, diplomatic missions and trademarks for a period of time, and will later be open to anyone interested in registering a domain under the TLD, according to the statement. To see more of the Jordan Times or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.jordantimes.com. Copyright (c) 2010, Jordan Times, Amman Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services. For more information about the content services offered by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services (MCT), visit www.mctinfoservices.com, e-mail [email protected], or call 866-280-5210 (outside the United States, call +1 312-222-4544). [ Back To TMCnet.com's Homepage ]