Sir, Less than five months after the US successfully resisted calls from the European Union and a wide swath of governments to give up its historic controlling role over the global internet, the issue of whether US politics will dictate development of the net's core functions has resurfaced.

Internet addresses worldwide are operated by the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), a not-for-profit co-ordinating body based in California that reports to the US Commerce Department, which has authority to authorise changes in the master directory of internet addresses worldwide.

Icann has sought to introduce .XXX, a domain for the adult content industry. In recent years new domains for all types of industries have been adopted, such as .mobi for mobile communications and .aero for flight-related websites.

Whatever individual views people may have of adult websites, Icann had a basis to consider this type of domain. In fact, some observers considered the idea of a "red-light district" for the internet a positive step that would reduce accidental visits to adult sites and help segregate content inappropriate for children.

Icann was well on its way to approving .XXX when the plan became a casualty of US politics. Michael Gallagher, assistant US commerce secretary, vetoed the proposal after receiving tens of thousands of e-mails from angry US conservatives accusing him of supporting the porn industry. The US government directed Icann to slow down the approval process. As a result .XXX has been in limbo ever since and the US promise to keep the internet free of politics has been exposed as a fraud.

Now the focus is on whether Icann can be a global organisation that is not beholden to any one country. The .XXX issue will confront Icann officials meeting government representatives and business leaders in Wellington, New Zealand, next week. The decisions made at the Wellington meeting will have a broad impact on the future of the internet, including how other domains are introduced and whether domain names are available in multiple languages.

If Icann resolves the .XXX issue in an independent fashion, it will demonstrate to the world that it can stand up to US pressure and make important decisions based on global participation. However, if it kowtows to the Bush administration, it will be exposed as nothing more than an American functionary.

A failure by Icann will stimulate the forces within the European Commission that last year sought to assert control over the internet to renew their efforts. That initiative failed because in the end there was not the stomach to fight the Bush administration. Now, with growing dissatisfaction over the US government and European internet operators openly questioning Icann's future, that may be a fight some are willing to undertake.

This is not, of course, a question of what views people have of pornography. Porn exists on the internet whether we like it or not. It is a question of whether the internet's future will be decided collaboratively by global participants or dictated by the world's sole superpower.

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