Dubai: Following the successful launch of the first fully non-Latin script domains in May 2010 by Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, four more countries in the Middle East have followed suit with "internationalised" domain names, or IDNs. These countries include Jordan, Qatar, Syria and Tunisia.

While Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the UAE were the first countries to offer IDNs, which are domain names comprising entirely non-Latin script, the successful pick-up across other Middle Eastern countries has demonstrated their popularity and demand, according to multinational law firm Clyde and Company.

The launch of these Arabic domain names in Jordan, Qatar, Syria and Tunisia means that they have now been delegated into the domain name systems (DNS) root zone which, in short, means that they are now available to be issued by the domain name registries in the relevant country, and then to be used in the same way as other domain names.

Little information

"The launch of Arabic domain names in seven countries now is a testament to both the demand for and importance of Arabic language trademark protection.

"While there is currently little information available for the other countries in the Middle East launching IDNs, we expect this to change with further developments in these countries in the near future," Rob Deans, Partner at Clyde & Co, said in a statement to Gulf News yesterday. Arabic is the seventh most common language on the internet, with an estimated 60 million Arabic language users online.

Sunrise period

The Saudi Network Information Centre has confirmed that Arabic domain names under the .AlSaudiah domain are to be launched in two phases, the first of which was completed on July 12.

The second phase is expected to be complete on September 27.

Egypt and the UAE appear to be following the same approach as taken in Saudi Arabia, with a sunrise period for trademark owners of around two months followed by a land rush.

"We understand that the sunrise period will be launched in the UAE towards the end of this year," Deans said.

The UAE Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA) launched the .emarat top-level domain in Abu Dhabi. The alternative domain was approved in April by the Washington-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann).