ST. LOUIS - Associated Geos continues its series with internet experts and overseers, this week getting to sit down with a representative from ICANN.

We got the rare opportunity to talk with Doug Brent, who as COO for ICANN, is the officer responsible for most of the day-to-day activities of this vital internet organization.

ICANN was incorporated in 1998 as a non-profit in order to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks previously performed directly on behalf of the U.S. government by other organizations, notably the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA).

In this interview, Doug Brent defines the organizations main duties, expresses what is happening today and gives vital information for web operators on how they can be a part of ICANN.

Associated Geos: Just as a reminder, can you define the main contribution of ICANN and how it interacts with the internet world?
Doug Brent: ICANN is the technical coordinator and a key policy forum for domain names, IP address allocation and management of protocol and parameter registries, with this work done in the benefit of Internet users globally. ICANN also has contracts with operators of generic top level domains (.com, .org), the registrars who distribute those names, and the responsibility to ensure compliance with those contracts in registry and registrar operation.

AG: What are the top three "hot topics" for the organization currently?
DB: 1) Just last month, ICANN's Board approved a process for a launch of the first internationalized domain names for country codes (for example, think about .china in Chinese characters). This is an exciting development that people all over the world contributed to, and some of these new domains will actually be available in the Internet during 2010.

2) Defining the process for introduction of new generic top level domains, in all of the languages of the world, remains a top focus for the ICANN community. There has been substantial progress, and key issues remain to be resolved. Timing of these processes has been hard
to predict, because the ICANN community and Board want to make sure that all issues are adequately addressed before the process launches. Some examples of important outstanding issues include adequacy of rights protection mechanisms, technical issues associated with scaling the root zone and others.

3) In the next months, ICANN, working in partnership with the U.S. Department of Commerce and VeriSign, will take the necessary steps to digitally sign the root zone file using DNSSEC, a method of securing the domain name system protocol itself. This is a key enabling step that will make it easier for securing this critical protocol at every level in the Internet.

AG: What is ICANN's position on net neutrality and what does it opine will be the main topic of that current debate?
DB: The ICANN organization is not involved in web content discussions, traffic or access issues. ICANN has community participants that would represent different views in this debate.

AG: How has the Uniform Domain Name Dispute Resolution Policy (UDRP) help control resolution conflict with the domain name world?
DB: UDRP is regarded by many as a success in that it is a predictable process and lower cost than the court system. However, UDRP is also being looked at by many as an area that needs further improvement. A large percentage of UDRP cases go uncontested (WIPO estimates about 70%), giving rise to the question, should there be a quicker and lower cost way to handle a set of complaints? Are registrars sufficiently responsive to UDRP decisions? This is an area of discussion at this very moment within ICANN with respect to new generic top level domains.

AG: What responsibilities, in ICANN's opinion, do web owners have with the privilege of their ownership?
DB: Domain name registrants have important responsibilities to comply with the relevant legal system and with the agreements they sign with service providers (registrars, ISPs, hosters, etc.). One responsibility that generic domain name registrants have is to keep their registration information, referred to as Whois information, accurate.

AG: How does ICANN see geo domain owners having a unique situation or opportunity with their particular web presence?
DB: There is an active discussion in the new gTLD context about the intersection of geographic names with the sovereign interests of a territory or country. Experiences of registrants who have registered geographic names at the second level could provide useful input into that debate.

AG: Where in the world has the internet made the most impact? This is if you take into consideration the territory before the web opened up to now. And why?
DB: Huge question, and hard to refine to a single answer. The Internet as a platform for democratizing expression may be most important. Further, allowing communities of interest or background to exist in a virtual world is extremely powerful. And, the dramatic financial
impact of consumer empowerment through information, efficient distribution, price comparison, etc. is dramatic.

AG: ICANN makes transparency and accountability their watchwords in virtually every principle statement. How has that philosophy helped internet growth?
DB: I think ICANN is part of and contributes to an Internet culture of openness. Openness is a foundational aspect of growth and innovation. Without good and constantly improving transparency and accountability, ICANN could not have the trust to execute its mandate.

AG: Finally, how can the average web operator or Geo Domain facilitator participate and interact within ICANN?
DB: We'd love to see your active participation in ICANN. One easy way is to find out what is going on is to sign up for newsletters, rss feeds and more at the ICANN web site. See for example http://www.icann.org/en/newsletter/

You can volunteer to participate in one of ICANN's policy processes. You do this through on-line comment, participation on teleconferences, and possible participation in working groups. Find out more: http://www.icann.org/en/policy/

We'd also welcome your application to serve in a leadership role on ICANN's Board or at the council level of one of ICANN's key organizations. This process will open in December, and you will be able to learn more about these opportunities here: http://nomcom.icann.org/