"The Internet is a global medium and should not be in the control of one nation.".

Among the most contentious proposals being debated at the United Nations-led World Summit on the Information Society will be suggestions that US organisations should relinquish control over fundamental parts of the Internet.

Currently, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann) - a California-based non-profit organisation - co-ordinates the Domain Name System (DNS) and manages the top-level domains such as .com and .net.

Icann was given the authority to regulate the DNS system under a contract from the US Department for Commerce, but that contract expires in 2006, and the US is under pressure to grant others a say.

Lately several countries, including Brazil, China and Iran, have been pushing for a greater role in managing parts of the Internet. Supra-national organisations, including the UN and even the European Union, have also been pressing the case for their involvement.

In July 2005, a UN working group on Internet governance recommended that Internet policy should be set by a broader multinational group, with powers to tax domains - a fund-raising mechanism that could establish universal access. Such sentiments are likely to provoke intense clashes at the November summit being held in Tunisia.

At stake is the degree to which information can freely and securely be received and sent. China, for example, has an active policy of restricting Internet access to its citizens, and also keeping tabs on the use of encryption - practices businesses would find hard to live with.

This has alarmed many commentators in the US, fearful that business imperatives could be subjugated by national interests. They point out that Icann already has a multinational advisory board, and has done much to encourage the development of the Internet.

US Senator Norm Coleman says there is no justification for changing current arrangements, as the Internet has flourished under US supervision.

"There is no rational justification for politicising Internet governance within a UN framework. Nor is there a rational basis for the anti-US resentment driving the proposal. At the World Summit [in November], the Internet is likely to face a grave threat. We risk the freedom and enterprise fostered by this informational marvel. The Internet has flourished under US supervision and oversight, and has evolved and grown under market-based principles and private sector leadership."

European Commissioner for the Information Society, Viviane Reding, believes more international involvement is needed, but not through government.

"Today, the Internet has become a global resource for freedom of expression and economic exchange. Monopolistic oversight of the Internet by one government is no longer a politically tenable solution. Some governments outside Europe have argued that this can best be achieved by creating a formal, treaty-based UN organisation to supervise the Internet. Europe does not agree. There must not be any government involvement in the day-to-day management of the Internet."