CORE - .ORG German IDN Launch

Internationalized Domain Names “IDNs” are domain/host names that are represented with native language, non-ASCII characters. The native language domain name is followed by the Top Level Domain (TLD), such as .org. An example of an IDN is: müller.org.

When will PIR launch IDNs?

PIR will launch the availability of .ORG German script IDN registrations on 15 January, 2005 at 19:00 UTC on a first-come, first-served basis.

What language scripts will be available for registration?

The initial .ORG IDN deployment will only accept German script IDN registrations. PIR will launch German IDNs with only the three umlaut characters (ä, ö, and ü) in compliance with the Internet Engineering Task Force IDN standards and Internet Corporation of Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) IDN guidelines.

What browsers support IDNs?

Netscape 7.1. Mozilla 1.4, Firefox 1.0, as well as Opera 7 are the first browsers to include built in support for the IETF IDN standard. Further questions about IDN compatibility should be directed to your registrar or choice.

Can I register German IDNs with the character “ß” (Eszet)?

No. PIR will launch German IDNs with only the three umlaut characters (ä, ö, and ü) in compliance with the IETF IDN standards and ICANN IDN guidelines. As such, according to the IDN technical standards, the “ß” (Eszet) is mapped to “ss” based on the Nameprep mechanism.

How will IDNs be displayed in Whois?

The “domain name” field will display the registered IDN in Punycode (e.g.: xn--probestck-w9a.org). Three additional fields will be introduced to the PIR Whois:

IDN Script: The intended script / language (based on RFC3066) of the IDN as determined by the registrant (e.g. “de” for German)

Unicode Hex: The IDN in Unicode Hex format (e.g. U+0070 U+0072 U+006F U+0062 U+0065 U+0073 U+0074 U+00FC U+0063 U+006B)

Unicode HTML: The IDN in HTML entity format (e.g.: probestück)