Qatar has become one of the first Middle Eastern countries to launch Arabic top-level domain names.
The new Web addresses will be made available through ictQatar, the official Qatar Domains Registry.
In the first phase of the Arabic domain name rollout, select businesses will be able to secure relevant Web addresses — particularly those that incorporate trademarked names.
Once all the business interests have been dealt with, ictQatar will open up the Arabic domain name application process to the general public — this will take place in August of this year.
Speaking to the Gulf Times, chief technical manager at ictQatar, Salah al-Kuwari said: “As more organisations and individuals begin adopting non-Latin domain names the Internet will literally be opened up to brand new audiences.”
“The Arab world represents a region with enormous potential for growth both in terms of usage and the creation of new digital content,” he added.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers has been gradually opening up the top-level domain name system and the organization is set to introduce potentially unlimited numbers of Web address suffixes in the near future.