As of the 1st March 2004, DENIC, SWITCH and nic.at (Germany, Austria Switzerland & Liechtenstein Domain Name Registration Service) will be introducing the new IDN (Internationalised Domain Name). This standard does much more than permit umlauts. A total of 92 additional characters, from the French é to the Danish ø, will then adorn domains.

The three registries are planning to act in unison in multiplying the orthographic possibilities for domains. This switchover is going to cater for the wishes expressed by numerous users, given that the rule applicable today does not go beyond the character set needed for English and hence imposes restrictions on other languages. Eliminating these has grown into an important priority for the Internet.

Please note the characters below will now be available to be registered as a domain name (example müllers.de, jägers.at, schröders.ch ECT)

Supported characters are as follows:

à á â ã ä å a a a æ ç c c c c d d è é ê ë e e e e e ? ð g g g g h h ì í î ï i i i i i j k ? l l l l ñ n n n ò ó ô õ ö ø o o o o r r r s s s s t t t þ ù ú û ü u u u u u u w ý ÿ y z z z

For more information, contact Safenames customer services or visit www.safenames.net