Bahrain Telecommunications Regulatory Authority leads development of '.arab' domain name on behalf of League of Arab States

The Committee is tasked by the League of Arab States with the direct supervision and follow-up on the League's application for the domains (.arab) and the equivalent in Arabic (.arab).

TRA's ICT Manager Mr. Ahmed Al Doseri, who chaired the steering committee meeting, commented, "The creation and use of a ".arab" or Arabic equivalent domain will ensure greater regional identity and over time will help to bridge the digital divide by encouraging Arabic content development and ease of navigation for those people who only read and write in Arabic."

The international body that oversees internet names, Internet Corporation for Assigned Numbers and Names (ICANN), announced in November 2009 that it will accept applications for non-Latin alphabet domains. This will bring the Internet much closer to the diversified locales of the world's varied cultures.

Mr. Aldoseri also said "Bahrain will soon enjoy an Arabic domain (.bahrain), which will further contribute to overall Internet penetration in the Kingdom, and support the creation of local digital content."

The steering committee is next scheduled to meet in Egypt during the period from the 24 to 28 January 2010 to follow-up on the agreed action points of its last meeting, and report on the progress of the League of Arab State's application for Arabic domains.