(MyHostNews.com) The Chairman of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) today welcomed the beginning of its tenth year of operations.

“Happy New Year to all those involved in the work that ICANN does,” said Peter Dengate Thrush, Chairman of the Board of ICANN. “I extend my personal best wishes to you all, and thank you in advance for the contributions I know you will be making to ICANN’s mission in 2008.”

Peter Dengate Thrush, spoke about the year ahead, including announcing a celebration of a decade of great contribution by the ICANN community to building a strong and effective ICANN.

“It is going to be another busy year for ICANN, as it has been every year since our inception in 1998. To mark our 10 year Anniversary, I am pleased to announce that there will be a special celebration around our Annual meeting, scheduled for later in the year in Africa. This will be our 33rd international meeting - truly a great time to celebrate all those people who have contributed so much to ICANN over that time, and ICANN’s achievements.”

“Sooner than that, there will be an opportunity for public comment on ICANN’s performance as the US Department of Commerce conducts an enquiry as part of the scheduled review of the Joint Project Agreement. ICANN will shortly publish its statement within that process, and I encourage others to consider posting comments,” said Mr Dengate Thrush. “The call for comment can be found at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/frnotices/2007/ICANN_JPA_110207.html and submissions are due by 15th February 2008. ICANN is working with NTIA, and we will be jointly reviewing the input from the community.”

“A lot of work is going on behind the scenes as ICANN staff and contractors work through the implementation issues arising from ICANN’s Generic Names Supporting Organization’s policy statements on the introduction of new Generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs),” said Mr Dengate Thrush. Existing gTLDs include .org, .museum, and .com. “Tied up with this is work on internationalizing the Domain Names System, building on the trial of 11 non-ascii scripts conducted in 2007. We can expect to see a process for applicants for new gTLDs, including those in many “non-Roman” scripts, being announced during the year. We are hopeful that the system will be in place to start accepting new applications by later this year.”

These are just 3 highlights from what will be another year packed with developments, said Mr Dengate Thrush

“I look forward during 2008 to meeting with many of you at our meetings, hearing from you through our public participation processes, and working with colleagues on the board and staff to maintain the mission of maintaining a secure, stable interoperable Internet. I especially look forward to celebrating our 10 year milestone with you all.”

For more information about ICANN visit www.icann.org.

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