General, i-DNS.net International, 26 December 2000 -- Domain The Net, a leading Israeli domain name Registrar company, today announced the launch of Hebrew Domain Names Registration, made possible via a registrar partnership with i-DNS.net International (i-DNS.net), a global leading provider of multilingual Internet technology solutions.
The Minister of Communications, Benjamin (Fuad) Ben-Eliezer, inaugurated the first Hebrew-language domain name ("Israel.com" spelled in Hebrew characters) during the launch ceremony.
This revolutionary innovation utilizes the Internationalized Domain Name System, a key enabling technology developed by i-DNS.net that supports multilingual domain names of more than 59 different languages. This innovation allows end-users to register their Internet addresses using Hebrew characters ending with , and (corresponding to ".com", ".net" and ".org" respectively).
Interested companies or individuals can register Hebrew domain names online at Domain The Net's website - www.DomainTheNet.com.
The usage of the Hebrew domain names is identical to that of the current English Domain Names - typing the Hebrew domain names onto the web browsers will direct the end-users to the appropriate Internet sites. At the same time, i-DNS does not require any changes in the way the Internet operates and maintains the Internet's stability.
The idea of developing multilingual domain names emanates from the need to eliminate the last language barrier that prevents non-native English speaking population from using the Internet. By allowing the intuitive use of native languages of each country, the Internet will be more accessible. As a result, more people will be able to enjoy the Internet experience and be exposed to the variety of opportunities the Internet offers.
The Israeli Internet community will no longer be forced to create strange domain names in English with a meaning in Hebrew. They also will no longer have to improvise or guess the spelling of the domain name in English. Moreover existing sites can be given new names in Hebrew, with no alteration required.
In the near future, e-mail addresses may be available in Hebrew characters. Domain The Net is also undergoing discussions with i-DNS.net on the possibility of offering Arabic and Russian domain names in Israel.
"i-DNS.net is the natural partner to assist us in propelling the availability of Hebrew Domain Names in view of their strong technical, business and operations expertise built over the past two years. Domain The Net's partnership with such industry pioneer will certainly address the demand for Hebrew domain names by the Israeli community, and will have an important social effect over the Israeli society by deleting the last barrier that prevented many people from accessing the Internet" said Mr. Yoav Keren, Managing Director of Domain The Net.
Mr. Michael Ng, CEO of i-DNS.net, said: "Our collaboration with Domain The Net will have far-reaching consequences in expanding the usage of Internet by the Hebrew-speaking population in Israel. Now, every Hebrew-speaking Israeli man on the street will have a good reason to access the Internet and tap onto the Net's abundance of valuable resources. This essentially takes us a significant step forward in realizing our vision of universal Internet access by anyone and anywhere on equal terms."
In addition to its registrar partnership with Domain The Net, i-DNS.net has successfully deployed its multilingual domain names solutions through its other registrar partners in more than 30 languages globally.
Domain The Net was established in July 2000 by three founders: Yoav Keren – economist and, until recently, senior advisor to Minster Haim Ramon; David Fridman – former marketing manager at Internet@Bezeq International; and Yuval Zantkeren – software engineer and attorney. The company has raised its first capital from private investors.
In addition to its partnerships with i-DNS.net International and WorldNames Inc., Domain The Net is the only authorized registrar for a number of domain name TLDs, and has signed partnership and cooperation agreements with a number of international companies in the Domain business.
Domain The Net operates on a number of levels in this area. It is one of the few companies in the world, and the only company in Israel, that developed a direct domain name registration system using the cellular phone. This service is currently supplied by GoNext. In addition, the company has developed an automatic registration system that supplies integrated online credit card clearing with the credit card companies and is operated without human intervention using state-of-the-art information security systems. The system allows a domain name real-time registration.
Domain The Net supplies a user-friendly system, and its site – in Hebrew – offers numerous services: domain name registration, hosting services, domain renewal, a simple and easy process for ownership transfer, etc. The site allows simultaneous searches for a number of domains, in a simple, convenient manner.