Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) has decided to enhance competition and user choice via the introduction of new gTLDs (Generic Top-Level Domains. The application for these new gTLDs will be open between January and April 2012 only. It is now the time to apply in order to acquire .beirut, .banks, .shopping, .etc… Innovation and imagination are the limit!

As part of the world-tour to promote this opportunity window, ISOC Lebanon hosted the visit to Beirut of the CEO of ICANN - Mr. Rod Beckstrom, and the COO of ICANN – Mr. Akram Atallah who have agreed to meet with the pillars of the Internet Community in Lebanon to discuss the new gTLDs, DNSSEC, and any other Internet Governance issue. In this respect, ISOC Lebanon organized a gathering at Le Grey Hotel, downtown Beirut on 5 October, to meet with Messrs Beckstrom and Atallah.

The following day, the 2 ICANN delegates visited the Beirut Internet eXchange Point hosted at Berytech along with Mr. Nabil Bukhalid (ISOC Lebanon, Chair) and Gabriel Deek (VP PCA), and toured the premises to meet some high-potential technology startups in the Internet space.

"I want to thank you for all the great work you and the rest of the ICT community are doing in LB. It is really impressive and encouraging to see all your accomplishments in spite of the poor infrastructure and lack of government support." commented Akram Atallah after the visit.

For more information about gTLDS, you can visit http://newgtlds.icann.org/ or http://newgtlds.icann.org/announcements-and-media/video/overview-en