Under the terms of the relationship, VeriSign and i-DNS.net will work together to enhance the current capabilities of the Multilingual Domain Names Testbed, including adding support for additional characters from other languages and extending functionality of the multilingual registry for registrars. The testbed has received over 700,000 registrations in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean since opening for registration on November 10, 2000.
"We're pleased to enhance our technical relationship with i-DNS.net," said Bruce Chovnick, General Manager of VeriSign's Global Registry Services. "The testbed has exhibited the high demand for these names and we look forward to extending our multilingual capabilities to create a full service offering for the Internet community."
"We look forward to extending the benefit of a truly multilingual Internet to the non-English world," said Michael Ng, CEO of i-DNS.net. "We are committed to working with local Internet communities and local Internet regulators in each country to ensure that the standardization of domain names achieves both international and local endorsement and acceptance."
The Multilingual Domain Names Testbed is coordinated with the work of the Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) Working Group of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF), which is developing global standards for domain names containing characters beyond the current system of Roman characters and digits. The testbed has proved a valuable tool in gathering information and real-world experience about some of the solutions and proposals put forth to date.
VeriSign and i-DNS.net are both actively engaged in discussions with standards bodies about the best approach toward an open, non-proprietary, global standard for multilingual domain name registration. VeriSign and i-DNS.net continue to update members of the IETF on the plans for and progress of the testbed. Valuable input and feedback has been received, which is being incorporated into future planning of the testbed.
About VeriSign
VeriSign, Inc. is the leading provider of trusted infrastructure services to Web sites, enterprises, electronic commerce service providers and individuals. The company's domain name, digital certificate and payment services provide the critical Web identity, authentication and transaction infrastructure that online businesses require to conduct secure e-commerce and communications. VeriSign's services are available through its Web sites (www.verisign.com) or through its direct sales force and reseller partners around the world.
