<html><head></head><body style="word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 14px; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><div><div>Dear Colleagues,</div></div></div><div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><br></div><div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; ">The Draft Integrated Issues Report is currently available for public comment. The public comment period was opened on 23 December 2011 and will run until <b>30 January 2012</b>. </div><div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><br></div><div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; ">We apologize about any confusion you may have had by receiving an interim version of the report sent to this list on 6 December 2011. This was a preliminary version of the report that was shared both to inform the list of progress and to seek input into the report before it is published for public comment. <span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; ">We have incorporated as many of your comments as possible into the draft Integrated Issues Report and now request that any additional comments you may have to be posted in the public comment forum, which will be used in considering changes in the Final Integrated Issues Report. </span></div><div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 16px; font-family: Calibri; font-size: medium; "><br></span></div><div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 16px; font-size: 14px; font-family: Calibri; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="line-height: 17px; font-size: medium; ">The announcement and public comment forum can be accessed at:</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-top: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-bottom: 10pt; margin-left: 0in; line-height: 17px; font-size: 11pt; font-family: Calibri; "><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-size: 14px; line-height: normal; font-family: Calibri; "><a href="http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-23dec11-en.htm">http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-23dec11-en.htm</a></span></p></div><div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><br></div><div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; ">Best regards,</div><div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><br></div><div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; ">Naela Sarras</div><div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; ">ICANN</div><div style="font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; font-size: 14px; "><br></div><span id="OLK_SRC_BODY_SECTION" style="font-size: 14px; font-family: Calibri, sans-serif; "><div style="font-family:Calibri; font-size:11pt; text-align:left; color:black; BORDER-BOTTOM: medium none; BORDER-LEFT: medium none; PADDING-BOTTOM: 0in; PADDING-LEFT: 0in; PADDING-RIGHT: 0in; BORDER-TOP: #b5c4df 1pt solid; BORDER-RIGHT: medium none; PADDING-TOP: 3pt"><span style="font-weight:bold">From: </span> ICANN News Alert <<a href="mailto:communications@icann.org">communications@icann.org</a>><br><span style="font-weight:bold">Date: </span> Mon, 26 Dec 2011 15:52:18 -0800<br><span style="font-weight:bold">To: </span> Naela Sarras <<a href="mailto:naela.sarras@icann.org">naela.sarras@icann.org</a>><br><span style="font-weight:bold">Subject: </span> ICANN News Alert -- IDN Variant Issues Project: Draft Integrated Issues Report<br></div><div><br></div><div style=""><title>ICANN News Alert</title><meta content="text/html; charset=utf-8" http-equiv="Content-Type"><meta content="icann, internet, internet corporation for assigned names and numbers, iana" name="keywords"><meta content="Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers" name="description"><style type="text/css">
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<h2>News Alert</h2>
<p style="margin: 0px 0px 10px; font-family: arial; font-size: small;"><a href="http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-23dec11-en.htm">http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-2-23dec11-en.htm</a></p>
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<h2 style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 0px;">IDN Variant Issues Project: Draft Integrated Issues Report</h2>
<p style="margin: 15px 0px 0px;">23 December 2011</p>
<p style="margin: 15px 0px 0px;"> </p>
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<td colspan="8" style="font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">IDN Variant Issues Project: Draft Integrated Issues Report</td>
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<td colspan="5" rowspan="2" style="text-align: left; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Comment Period Deadlines <sup style="font-size: 0.8em;">(*)</sup></td>
<td colspan="3" style="color: #cc0000; text-align: center; font-size: large; font-weight: bold;">Important Information Links</td>
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<td colspan="3" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/idn-vip-integrated-issues-23dec11-en.htm">Public Comment Box</a></td>
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<td class="light"><strong>Open Date:</strong></td>
<td colspan="4">23 December 2011</td>
<td colspan="3" style="text-align: center;"><a href="mailto:idn-vip-integrated-issues@icann.org">To Submit Your Comments (Forum)</a></td>
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<td height="26" class="light"><strong>Close Date:</strong></td>
<td style="width: 14%;">30 January 2012</td>
<td colspan="2" class="light" style="width: 12%;"><strong>Time (UTC):</strong></td>
<td style="width: 8%;">23:59</td>
<td colspan="3" style="width: 40%; text-align: center;"><a href="http://forum.icann.org/lists/idn-vip-integrated-issues/">View Comments Submitted</a></td>
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<td colspan="8" class="light"><strong>Section I: Description, Explanation, and Purpose</strong></td>
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<td colspan="8"><p>On 20 April 2011, ICANN announced the <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-20apr11-en.htm">IDN Variant Issues Project</a> to explore the benefits and risks associated with the potential inclusion of IDN variant TLDs in the DNS root zone. This project was initiated in response to a 2010 ICANN Board of Directors <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-25sep10-en.htm#2.5">resolution</a>.</p>
<p>ICANN is publishing today for <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/public-comment/idn-vip-integrated-issues-23dec11-en.htm">public comment</a> the draft <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/idn-vip-integrated-issues-23dec11-en.pdf">Integrated Issues Report</a>, a study of the issues that this project has identified in relation to the management of IDN variant TLDs. It represents the result of the completion of the second phase of the project.</p>
<p>The first phase involved the formation of six case study teams for the Arabic, Chinese, Cyrillic, Devanagari, Greek and Latin scripts. These teams were comprised of community experts with support by ICANN and worked on identifying issues related to IDN variant TLDs for each particular script, resulting in the publication in October of six individual <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-4-03oct11-en.htm">reports</a> detailing their findings.</p>
<p>The second phase focused on integrating those six case study reports into the Integrated Issues Report. To complete this phase, <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/announcements/announcement-4-03oct11-en.htm">ICANN formed a coordination team</a> comprised of experts from each of the case study teams. The coordination team advised ICANN in completing the Integrated Issues Report, which summarizes and categorizes the various issues related to the identification and management of IDN variant TLDs. </p>
<p>ICANN is now seeking community input on the issues discussed in this draft report. The report will be updated to reflect community feedback and the final Integrated Issues Report will be presented to the ICANN Board of Directors during their meeting at the ICANN public meeting in Costa Rica in March 2012.</p>
Following publication of the final Integrated Issues Report, ICANN will facilitate work toward determining the conditions under which certain types of variant TLDs could be implemented. Future work may also involve developing tools, processes, and protocols to support specific solutions, in cooperation with the appropriate experts. For the purpose of arriving at a determination on whether variant TLDs can be delegated, it is expected that the required work can be completed in calendar year 2012.</td>
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<td colspan="8" class="light"><strong>Section II: Background</strong></td>
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<td colspan="8"><p>On 25 September 2010 the Board of Directors of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) directed the CEO "to develop an issues report identifying what needs to be done with the evaluation, possible delegation, allocation and operation of gTLDs containing variant characters IDNs as part of the new gTLD process in order to facilitate the development of workable approaches to the deployment of gTLDs containing variant characters IDNs." (<a href="http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-25sep10-en.htm#2.5">http://www.icann.org/en/minutes/resolutions-25sep10-en.htm#2.5</a>)</p>
<p>In response, ICANN conducted six case studies of individual scripts to investigate any issues associated with delegating and using IDN variant TLDs that need to be resolved to facilitate a good user experience.</p> <p>The next phase focused on integrating those six case study reports into the draft Integrated Issues Report, which is being posted here for public comment.</p></td>
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<td colspan="8" class="light"><strong>Section III: Document and Resource Links</strong></td>
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<td colspan="8"><p style="text-decoration: underline;">Documents posted for comment</p>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/idn-vip-integrated-issues-23dec11-en.pdf">The IDN Variant Issues Project: A Study of Issues Related to the Management of IDN Variant TLDs</a></li>
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<p style="text-decoration: underline;">Additional Resources</p>
<ul>
<li>The original <a href="http://www.icann.org/en/topics/new-gtlds/idn-variant-tlds-delegation-20apr11-en.pdf">Variant Issues Project proposal</a> 20 April 2011.</li>
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<td colspan="8" class="light"><strong>Section IV: Additional Information</strong></td>
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<td colspan="8">None</td>
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<td class="light" style="width: 15%;"><strong>Staff Contact:</strong></td>
<td colspan="3" style="width: 45%;">Kurt Pritz</td>
<td class="light" style="width: 5%;"><strong>Email:</strong></td>
<td colspan="3" style="width: 35%;"><a href="mailto:kurt.pritz@icann.org?subject=More information on the IDN Variant Issues Project: Draft Integrated Issues Report public comment period">kurt.pritz@icann.org</a></td>
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<p style="font-size: x-small;"><em>(*) Comments submitted after the posted Close Date/Time are not guaranteed to be considered in any final summary, analysis, reporting, or decision-making that takes place once this period lapses.</em></p>
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