"The coming introduction of non-Latin characters represents the biggest technical change to the internet since it was created four decades ago," declared ICANN chairman Peter Dengate Thrush.

"Right now internet address endings are limited to Latin characters – A to Z. But the Fast Track Process is the first step in bringing the 100,000 characters of the languages of the world online for domain names," he explained.

ICANN's Fast Track Process launches on November 16, 2009. It will allow nations and territories to apply for internet extensions reflecting their name – and made up of characters from their national language.

"This is only the first step, but it is an incredibly big one and an historic move toward the internationalization of the internet," noted Rod Beckstrom, ICANN's President and CEO.

"The first countries that participate will not only be providing valuable information of the operation of IDNs (International Domain Names) in the domain name system, they are also going to help to bring the first of billions more people online – people who never use Roman characters in their daily lives," Beckstrom added.

According to ICANN, it has taken "years of intense technical testing, policy development, and global co-operation" to prepare the Fast Track process for its coming launch.

"Our work on IDNs has gone through numerous drafts, dozens of tests, and an incredible amount of development by volunteers since we started this project. Today is the first step in moving from planning and implementation to the real launch," announced Tina Dam, ICANN's Senior Director for IDNs.

"The launch of the Fast Track Process will be an amazing change to make the internet an even more valuable tool, and for even more people around the globe," she concluded.