It looks like the web is finally becoming truly global. Domain names in Chinese, Japanese, and Korean characters are now functioning after many years of development. After downloading the Verisign plug-in, I was able to see the Chinese address in Internet Explorer. Now if only I could read Chinese. You can also use the free AsiaSurf Explorer.
Several new domains will become available soon, including .eu (Europe) and .Asia. It's also possible that eventually there will be domains for airline flight numbers (type in your flight no. to get status report) or even retail products.
There are more Asians than North Americans online (223 vs. 175 million users) and only 36% of the world's Internet users are native English speakers, yet 68% of the web's content is in English. Maybe the tide is turning a little. I think I'll look into buying stock at NJStar.
Register your Chinese, Japanese, or Korean domain at Unicode.
Read more about the global web from The Washington Post's Leslie Walker.