Activate Iraq's Internet Country Code!

Just what everybody has been waiting for! The long awaited campaign to re-activate Iraq's internet country code! With June drawing to a close, by this time next week the Iraqi Interim Government will be installed (yes, I know, its a temporary pastiche measure, yah yah, but one step at a time hey). While some in Iraq bunker down and prepare for a possibly contentious week... the rest of us lurking here on the web have the opportunity to sign this momentous petition;

The Worldwide Petition to Activate the Internet Country Code for the Nation of Iraq

Here is a brief explanation for people like me who need to ask "er, what?"

An internet country code is the part of an internet address that goes sort of where the .com or .org bit is. Some examples;

.jp Japan
.de Germany
.fr France
.jo Jordon
.af Afghanistan
.sy Syria
.us US
.uk UK


So a full Syrian address might look like this; www.somethingoranother.org.sy or a full UK address might look like this; www.whatever.com.uk

There are many other country codes. Iraq's is .iq but it was deactivated shortly before the latest war and is still inoperative. This petition lobbies to have the code reinstated.

You can read more about the petition here and sign it here. You can also copy and email this link; http://www.dialoguechannel.com/iraq_petition.htm to as many people as you know.

The Dialogue Channel (www.DialogueChannel.com) is organizing a worldwide petition to activate the Internet country code for the nation of Iraq.

The all-important ".iq" Internet domain for Iraq is currently unavailable even though it was designated in 1997 and briefly activated years ago. Without the identification of this "top level domain" Iraq cannot join other nations as a peer on the Internet.

All Internet users are urged to sign the petition, including Iraqis who wish to use the .iq country code, and all others who wish to help the Iraqi people participate in the international and Internet economies.

The petition is directed towards the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) which controls country designations around the world through its contract with the U.S. Department of Commerce. Copies of the petition will be shared with all governing authorities in Iraq, as well as cultural and economic institutions, to assure a transparent process in reactivating the .iq domain.

Lets sign it and see what happens...

maa assalaama

Update. An ibcdweller says;

.com .mil .edu .net and .gov are a little different.

They are used instead of the country codes. In another example of Amerikan cultural imperialism, they are either loosely for American domains (.com and .net) or strictly (.gov .mil. .edu).

Things like .com.uk are subdomains of .uk. Just like xyz.uk or moc.uk or anything. Nothing special about .com in that position.