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Shabaka Domain Will Open Up Internet in Arabic
One positive outcome of the WCIT held in Dubai was setting the stage for greater cooperation between the International Telecommunication Union and Internet Corporation for Assignment Names and Numbers (Icann), the global regulator of Web addresses.
As part of Icann’s top-level domain programme, the Arab world now has a pan-regional internet domain name shabaka, the equivalent of .com. The domain name will operate only in Arabic script on the internet and users will be able to use it only by typing in Arabic.
“It is the first cross-border Arabic domain name,” said Yasmin Omer, the general manager of International Domain Registry, the company behind shabaka. “Shabaka presents a major opportunity for big brands to target the entire Arab community. It will be the centre for everything Arabic on the internet and has enormous e-commerce potential.”
Shabaka beat 1,900 other applicants to become the domain name for the Arab-speaking world and will be available midyear.
The company is now targeting McDonald’s, Pepsi, Gucci and other big names to sign up.
“We’re really going to be focusing on brands earlier on in the launch and will prioritise them and include a rights protection mechanism to make sure the rights of big brands and trademark holders are protected so that shabaka becomes a reputable space and not abused by cyber-squatters,” said Ms Omer.
With the region’s e-commerce industry set to be worth US$15 billion (Dh55.09bn) by 2015, shabaka can become an important component of both online and offline marketing efforts to drive online sales growth according to Ms Omer.
There are currently 90 million Arabic-speaking internet users in the region and Arabic is the fastest- growing language online.
“Right now the internet speaks English. Not all Arabic internet users are bilingual and this has marginalised Arabic internet users. With shabaka, they can type the domain name entirely in Arabic and navigate the internet in Arabic,” said Ms Omer. “Moving away from the non-Arabic internet space like .com, .org, .net will provide the Arabic speaker a unique corner of the internet.”
Icann’s approval of shabaka follows top-level discussions held in Dubai this month at the Arab multi-stakeholder internet governance forum. At the forum, industry and policy leaders from across the region discussed how they can nurture the development of the internet and the introduction of shabaka was considered a vital component of these talks.
Triska Hamid
The National