The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names

The Internet is set to undergo one of the biggest changes in its four-decade history with the expected approval this week of international domain names -- or addresses -- that can be written in languages other than English, an official said Monday.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN -- the non-profit group that oversees domain names -- is holding a meeting this week in Seoul. Domain names are the monikers behind every Web site, e-mail address and Twitter post, such as ".com" and other suffixes.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers [ICANN] has voted to allow--in addition to more traditional top-level domains [TLDs], such as .com and .org--theoretically any TLD at all, as long as it is no longer than 64 characters long. The application process for such custom TLDs looks set to be arduous and the criteria reasonably rigorous, but observers say the new system will create confusion.

The Internet's key oversight agency relaxed rules Thursday to permit the introduction of hundreds, perhaps thousands, of new Internet domain names to join ".com," making the first sweeping changes in the network's 25-year-old addressing system.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers unanimously approved the new guidelines on the final day of week-long meetings in Paris. ICANN also voted unanimously to open public comment on a separate proposal to permit addresses entirely in non-English languages for the first time.