ISOC-IL, the registry for .IL (Israel), has announced they will soon be making available domain names containing Hebrew characters, like ×××××-×××× ××¨× ×.org.il.
Prior to general availability, ISOC-IL is launching a Sunrise process. There will be four phases in the lead up to making Hebrew .IL domain names available to the general public. The dates for the different phases are:
Phase 1: 30 August 2010 – 30 October 2010.
Phase 2: 31 October 2010 – 20 November 2010.
Phase 3: 21 November – 4 December 2010.
Phase 4: Public Registration.
The Sunrise is intended for owners of certain Israeli trademarks, and for incorporated legal entities, such as companies and associations, whose registration is officially handled by the State of Israel. The Sunrise allows such entities to secure the registration of well-defined Domain Names which reflect their trademarks or registered names.
This process for making .IL domain names in Hebrew comes about as ISOC-IL is in the process of consulting on a Top Level Domain in Hebrew. However when the Hebrew TLD is introduced, registrants with existing .IL domain names will automatically get their domain name in the Hebrew TLD with no additional cost.
For more information on the introduction of Hebrew .IL domain names and the introduction of a Hebrew internationalised top level domain, see:
www.isoc.org.il/domains/idn_eng/
To register your .IL domain name, check out Europe Registry here.