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Free Iraq asks for its domain name
The .iq domain currently owned by Texas company

By Ron Coates

Published: Wednesday 30 June 2004

Newly independent Iraq has asked for control of its .iq domain name.

The domain is currently controlled by Texas company InfoCom, but is not in use because the man listed as the firm's technical contact, a Palestinian named Bayan Elashi, is currently awaiting a criminal trial in the US. Elashi is charged with funding Hamas, which the US defines as a terrorist organisation.

Web regulator ICANN has confirmed that it has given Iraq details about the re-delegation process, but says its policy is not to comment on applications. The organisation is known for giving some weight to governmental wishes.

It took Afghanistan only six months to gain control of its .af domain name; the application by Iraq's National Communications and Media Commission is said to have taken a few tips from the Afghani application.

Libya, on the other hand, has been in dispute with its domain manager, LyDomains, for over two years, and its .ly domain has been inactive since April.

ICANN is expected to hold preliminary discussions on the re-delegation of the domain name sometime this week.