The domination of Internet domains with the English alphabet is about to change. According to a recent announcement from ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers), domains in Chinese, Arabic and Korean will be available in the near future, representing a significant step towards an internationalized domain system.

As early as this year netizens worldwide will be able to simply input domains composed of words and letters from their mother language. For example, Chinese visitors can just type in "www.可口可乐.com" and find Coca-Cola’s website, which may be easier for those who are not familiar with English. It is predicted by professionals that ".中国" (Zhōng guó, or “China”) would be a top domain worldwide due to the large and growing population of netizens in China.

This innovation will not only impact the IT world, but also brings changes for brands. For one, it will make it easier for internet users who do now know English to find websites of brands with names translated into foreign languages such as Chinese. Internet users should find it much easier to remember domains in their own language which can bring more traffic to the website. Online advertising and marketing activities can be much more effective and reach an increased audience by using the internationalized domain names.

As we have mentioned in previous LABReports, Chinese names are very important for a brand who tries to enter the Chinese marketplace. Now a Chinese brand name can also be used in the Internet domain name. This can create an integrated and consistent verbal identity in Chinese. A domain name in Chinese will also attract and appeal to Chinese customers, making your brand more easily built and recognized in China.

Promotion for Chinese domain registration has already been launched by some domain registration agencies. They claim that Chinese domains are such a breakthrough that companies must register as soon as possible; otherwise, they have to buy that domain back with a much larger amount of money in the future.

However, several news sources note that this promotion in fact received more cold shoulders than warm welcomes among companies around China. Most company owners are not aware of the importance and value of Chinese domains. They are already accustomed to use English domains when surfing the Internet, and some browsers do not even support Chinese domains. Meanwhile, it's interesting to note that many famous names in Chinese have been registered by individuals for future profit-making purposes. Although the total amount of domain names registered increased recently, many registrants do not actually own the brand they are registering.

Confusing as the current situation might be, the underlying message is clear- a Chinese domain name should be a consideration for foreign and domestic brands, and could even be incorporated as a crucial step in the selection and communication of a Chinese brand name.