I have a feeling this wont ever fly - but .... USER-FRIENDLY ALTERNATIVE TO URLS DUE SOON Technology that permits users to access Internet sites, locate information, and send emails using simple and easily remembered names instead of URLs is coming close to completion and is entering the market. Engineers at Network Solutions, RealNames, Netword, and AT&T have developed the Common Names Resolution Protocol (CNRP). A beta version of NSI's CNRP software is being released for Web users, and later this fall RealNames and Netword will offer commercial CNRP versions. CNRP will likely be useful in the wireless environment due to its use of short and simple phrases and names, and network managers at corporations could utilize CNRP services to access employee and customer information or to share corporate documents. This month a final version of the CNRP protocol specification will be published and this fall the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) will probably approve CNRP as a standards-track protocol. Internationalized domain names are the final technical obstacle CNRP faces, says Leslie Daigle, chair of the IETF working group on CNRP. The current CNRP pilot project will run for approximately six months. (Network World, September 4 2000) Joe Baptista The dot.GOD Registry http://www.dot.god/