Icann dot-eu vote: one week to deadline

Internet users have only a week left to register for elections which will decide whether Europe gets its own dot-eu domain.

Icann, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, will elect five new board members in the autumn, but to take part, users must register as an At Large member with the organisation by the end of the month.

Esther Dyson, chairman of Icann told silicon.com: "We encourage people not just to vote, but also to learn about and comment on the issues - most notably, the rules and practices for new TLDs [top level domains] and rules governing the allocation of names and behavior of registrars."

Phil Callan, managing director EMEA of domain name registrar Network Solutions, said users should be as active as possible. "If you don't register to vote, you don't get the chance to have your say," he said.

According to Tom Barrett, CEO of domain name registrar, NetNames, Icann has done a good job for specialist business groups, but consumers and non-business users have not been well represented so far. "They will have quite a bit of influence," he said.

At last week's meeting in Yokohama, Japan, Icann debated how candidates for the board will be selected. "At one point it looked as though 10 per cent of initial 'At Large' members would stand," said Barrett. "But now it will only be around 2 per cent - or 300 nominees."

Candidates can nominate themselves or be nominated by other At Large members. The five winners should be in place by November, when the organisation will decide on five or six new top level domains - including the European Union-backed dot-eu.

Barrett said: "It's coming right down to the wire - but there's still seven days left."

To register, see http://members.icann.org