The world’s first Arabic language top-Level domain has been announced. The domain, “شبكة.”, transliterates to '.shabaka' and translates into English as '.web'.
The news means that Internet users that speak Arabic become the first to benefit from ICANN's decision to release hundreds of new Top-Level Domains (TLDs) into cyberspace to go alongside more traditional extensions like .com, .net and .org.
GoDaddy, one of the Internet's leading domain registrars, will carry the new domain.
More than 380 million people in 20 countries in the Middle East and Africa speak Arabic, making it the fastest growing online language. The number of Arabic speakers that use the Internet grew 2,500% in the 10 years from 2001 to 2011.
ICANN, otherwise known as the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, and the world's chief web address regulator, recently signed a contract with dotShabaka Registry for the new TLD. It will be live in the near future - probably only a matter of months.
“Today’s contract signing is a monumental occasion," explained dotShabaka Registry's General Manager, Yasmin Omer. "As the first new Top-Level Domain, شبكة. is set to become the center of all things Arabic on the Internet. It is an incredible achievement not only for us but for the entire Arabic speaking world. It will pioneer a new way for people to use the Internet that begins with the Arabic language."
What will be the reality of so many domain extensions? Let us know your thoughts. Add your comments below.
