The top-level domain (TLD) “xn—fpcrj9c3d” is an internationalized top-level domain (IDN TLD). These are internet domain names that are represented by local language characters. When an IDN domain is registered, it is followed by a procedure known as ‘Punycode’, which is a way to represent Unicode with the limited character subset of ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange), supported by the Domain Name System (DNS). Essentially, this means that the domain name is translated into an ASCII string format that DNS can understand. The ‘xn—’ sequence is a prefix used in the Punycode encoding to represent this kind of domain.
In the case of “xn—fpcrj9c3d,” after decoding from Punycode it stands for “.భారత్” which means “.India” in Telegu language. This TLD belongs to India and was approved by ICANN (the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) as part of a fast-track process to internationalize TLDs.
Internationalized domain names and associated top-level domains were created in a bid to make the internet more accessible to users who may not use the English alphabet in their language. For example, TLDs such as “xn—fpcrj9c3d” (.భారత్) allow websites to be accessed and used in the native scripts of local languages, thereby helping to increase internet usage and accessibility in non-English speaking regions.
India, with its diverse linguistic profile including hundreds of regional languages, has been a leading country in adopting internationalized domain names and TLDs. As reported by Business Standard in 2014, ICANN approved several domain names in languages including Hindi, Bengali, Punjabi, Urdu, Tamil, and Telugu, all intended to increase India’s digital footprint and provide more of its population access to the internet in their local language.
The use of international TLDs such as “xn—fpcrj9c3d” is seen as a part of the wider movement for linguistic and cultural diversity in the digital space. This TLD, and others like it, demonstrate how the infrastructure of the internet can be adapted to better serve the specific technological, cultural, and linguistic needs of different regions around the world.
Sources:
- ICANN’s description of Punycode (https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/idn-2012-02-25-en)
- Business Standard, 2014, “India to get domain names in 7 Indian languages” (https://www.business-standard.com/article/technology/india-to-get-domain-names-in-7-indian-languages-114111900725\_1.html)
