Category Archives: IDN (Intl. Domain Name)

Russia’s Internet growth is just getting started

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I checked domain registration stats from Russia’s registry and here are the high-level numbers:

If you combine IDNs and ccTLDs, Russia becomes the third-ranked country in terms of country code registrations, behind Germany and the UK.

But what caught my eye is that, according to the registry, only 44% of the population has Internet access (52 million people).

Russia has a great deal of Internet growth ahead of it still. I expect to see a number of newly localized Russian websites as I continue work on the 2012 Web Globalization Report Card this month.

From Russia, with IDNs

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A little more than a year ago, Russia opened up registration for its top-level IDN: рф.

Since then, more than 900,000 domains have been registered, making this the most successful IDN by far.

I’ve always been quick to stress that the bulk of these registrations are coming from squatters: folks hoping to make a quick buck reselling them. Yet according to Russia’s registry, about one in five registered domains is now hosting a live website.

I’d still love to see a list of some of these live websites to make sure they truly are legitimate websites — and not just placeholders.

Even so, let’s assume that 100,000 web sites are indeed live and indeed legitimate, that’s an impressive number.

Take McDonald’s.

McDonald’s supports a localized website at макдональдс.рф,

However, for the most part, the companies that are using Russia’s IDN are Russian nationals and government agencies.

Here are a few live sites:

I suspect I’ll read an article in the NY Times a year from now about how there’s a huge domain rush on for Russia’s IDNs — and how Western companies are late to the party.

Because they are.

And in case you’re wondering if you can register a Russian IDN — you absolutely can. The restriction on foreigners was just lifted.

 

From Morocco to Malaysia, IDN growth continues

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ICANN recently approved Malaysia’s Arabic IDN (internationalized domain name), bringing the number of countries or territories with approved IDNs to 29. Here is the full list.

As shown here, Malaysia joins a growing club of IDN holders!

 

And here’s a visual that I find striking — a view of IDNs only:

These are all valid top-level domains — and they foreshadow what the top level of the Internet will look like in the decades ahead.

(Granted, IDN approval has little do with IDN adoption and usage, but it’s a start.)

By the way, I’ve gotten a number of requests for custom versions of the IDN map lately. I’m happy to produce them. If you have something in mind, contact me.

 

Kazakhstan gets an IDN (and I get to update our IDN poster)

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Kazakhstan has joined a fast-expanding group of countries and regions that now have IDNs (28 and counting).

I’ve highlighted Kazakhstan in the map above. The IDN is қаз.

While getting approval for an IDN doesn’t guarantee a country will actually do anything with that IDN, it’s a crucial first step. And I suspect that Kazakhstan is eager to follow in Russia’s footsteps — a country that has had the most success (in registrations) with its IDN.

I love IDNs, but every time there’s a new one I have to update our map.

So here it is — the latest and greatest: