The top-level domain (TLD), xn—vermgensberatung-pwb, is an example of an Internationalized Domain Name (IDN) TLD. This domain was designated for the German word “Vermögensberatung,” which translates to “wealth management” in English. It’s aimed at financial advisors, institutions, and anyone offering similar services.
ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, introduced IDNs to accommodate the internet usage needs of non-English speaking populations worldwide. With this IDN format introduced in 2003, users can access URLs in various languages and scripts, such as Arabic, Japanese, Cyrillic, and a host of others ([Namespace and Internet Governance, RFC4690](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc4690)).
The “xn—” prefix signifies that the domain name is an IDN. This format includes native language characters followed by a unique string of characters, going by the system called Punycode. Punycode is a method for converting words with special characters into an ASCII compatible encoding format. Consequently, the string “xn—vermgensberatung-pwb” signifies the Unicode equivalent of the German word “Vermögensberatung”.
The transition to IDNs has greatly influenced internet usability. Boosting internet penetration in non-English-speaking countries, IDNs have become pivotal in global communication and commerce. For example, in Germany, businesses like financial consulting firms can use domains like xn—vermgensberatung-pwb for their web portals. Doing so would streamline their visibility among local consumers who naturally search in their native language.
While IDNs bring the internet closer to the end user’s native language, they can pose challenges like phishing. However, efforts are ongoing to develop safeguards, and ICANN actively monitors domain names for suspicious activities ([ICANN’s IDN Program](https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/idn-2012-02-25-en)).
In a nutshell, xn—vermgensberatung-pwb is a TLD assigned to the term “Vermögensberatung” or “wealth management” in the German language, showing how ICANN has expanded the internet’s comprehensibility and reach through IDNs.
Sources
1. Feltman, A. E. (2013). “Internationalized Domain Names and the Interaction Between Trademark Law and Internet Governance.” [Berkeley Technology Law Journal, 28(1), pp. 243-268](https://scholarship.law.berkeley.edu/btlj/vol28/iss1/7/).
2. Klensin, J., & Faltstrom, P. (2020). “Internationalized Domain Names in Applications (IDNA): Unicode 12.0 Update.” [Network Working Group, RFC8750](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc8750).
3. [Namespace and Internet Governance, RFC4690](https://datatracker.ietf.org/doc/html/rfc4690)
4. [ICANN’s IDN Program](https://www.icann.org/resources/pages/idn-2012-02-25-en)
