Network Solutions Registry Opens Multilingual Domain Name Testbed to Registrars.

Business Editors, High Tech Writers

HERNDON, Va.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 24, 2000

Non-English Character Standards to Extend

the Internet Domain Name System

The Network Solutions Registry (NSI Registry), a division of Network Solutions, Inc., a VeriSign company, today announced that it will open a testbed for accredited registrars to register domain names in non-English language character sets in .com, .net, and .org.

Presently, prospective registrants are limited to using English language characters when registering their domain names in .com, .net and .org. The testbed will allow users to register domain names with registrars initially in three languages: Japanese, Korean, and Chinese (traditional and simplified), and soon thereafter in Spanish, Portuguese, and Arabic.

"The multilingual domain name testbed is a significant step towards increasing Internet functionality and e-commerce opportunities for over 90 percent of the world's population which does not speak English as its native language," said Bruce Chovnick, General Manager of NSI Registry. "We are pleased to play a leading role in expanding the breadth of the domain name system. NSI Registry is committed to working within the approved standards development process that is ongoing within the Internet community, and we are hopeful that this test period, along with parallel tests being conducted by others around the world, will accelerate the evolution of a global standard for multilingual Domain Name System."

Within the next few weeks, NSI Registry will establish a preliminary environment where Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) accredited registrars can analyze the Registry Registrar Protocol (RRP) command functionality prior to entering an operational test and evaluation environment. Registrars must successfully complete a multilingual certification evaluation for each language encoding in which they will be registering names. After completing certification testing, registrars will receive authorization to act as a multilingual registrar. Start of the certification process is currently targeted for October 2000.

When a domain name is added to the DNS, the process consists of two parts; registration and resolution. Initially, the NSI Registry multilingual testbed will handle only registration, allowing individuals who want a non-English character domain name to register one. The process of matching domain names to IP addresses, known as resolution, requires multilingual enhancements to Berkeley Internet Name Domain (BIND), the predominant domain name server application software in use today. NSI Registry plans to provide for multilingual DNS resolution within .com, .org, and .net as a function of the testbed beginning in November 2000.

Throughout the testbed period, various technologies will be employed to enable the ICANN accredited registrars to convert a native language domain name into an acceptable string that can be processed and stored by the DNS. NSI Registry will make available on its Web site a list of vendors who have qualified their software for testbed usage, and will also make available the requisite DNS protocol information that will enable registrars to create their own utilities or work with a third party.

The testbed is NSI Registry's effort to contribute to the work of the Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) Working Group of the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF). The IDN Working Group's goal is the identification of requirements for multilingual access to domain names and a standards track protocol, based on those requirements, which will adequately respond to the need to scale multilingual DNS globally.

Individuals will be able to register non-English character domain names through the ICANN accredited registrars, as they become testbed enabled. A list of testbed-enabled registrars will be maintained at the NSI Registry Web site (www.nsiregistry.com). Registrars will utilize the testbed to add their customers' non-English domain names to the definitive directory for .com, .net, and .org.

To learn more about the multilingual domain name testbed, visit the NSI Registry Web site ( www.nsiregistry.com ), where additional information is available and future updates on the testbed development will be posted.

About Network Solutions Registry

The Network Solutions Registry division is the leading provider of Internet locator services and is an independent division within Network Solutions, Inc., a VeriSign (NASDAQ: VRSN) company. The Registry maintains the definitive directory of over 19 million Web addresses and is responsible for the infrastructure that propagates this information throughout the Internet and responds to over 1.5 billion DNS look-ups daily. As the exclusive provider of registry services to .com, .net, and .org, the Registry currently supports 61 active ICANN accredited registrars operating in 16 countries around the globe. For more information, see the www.nsiregistry.com web site.

About VeriSign

VeriSign, Inc. is the leading provider of trusted infrastructure services to Web sites, enterprises, electronic commerce service providers and individuals. The company's domain name, digital certificate and payment services provide the critical Web identity, authentication and transaction infrastructure that online businesses need to conduct secure e-commerce and communications. VeriSign's services are available through its Web sites ( www.verisign.com and www.netsol.com ) or through its direct sales force and reseller partners around the world.

Statements in this announcement other than historical data and information constitute forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially from those stated or implied by such forward-looking statements. The potential risks and uncertainties include, among others, potential volatility in VeriSign's stock price, uncertainty of Internet privatization, increased competition in the domain name registration business including price competition, customer acceptance of new products and services offered by the company in addition to or as enhancements of its registration services, risks associated with the company's international business, uncertainty of future revenue and profitability and fluctuations in its quarterly operating results. More information about potential factors that could affect the company's business and financial results is included in VeriSign's filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, especially in the company's Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed on April 12, 2000, as amended, Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 1999 and Quarterly Report on Form 10-Q for the period ended March 31, 2000.