The 'Net Around the World

In this section...

• Locating an Internet Access Provider Outside the U.S.
• International Top-Level Domain Names
• Where the Internet is Not Welcome

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Locating an Internet Access Provider Outside the U.S.

If you live outside the U.S. and want to find an access provider in your home country, go to Mecklermedia's "The List" (http://www.thelist.com/), where you will be able to search databases of international access providers by name, geographic location and area code. Areas not served by local systems may be served by NetSat Express (http://www.netsatx.net/), a service that connects users to the Internet via satellite; call 516-231-4422 for exact services and rates.

Some U.S. ISPs also serve parts of Canada, Mexico and the Caribbean, so persons living in those regions may be able to get local access through a U.S. provider.

International Top-Level Domain Names

International top-level domain names appear as two letters at the ends of Internet addresses, and indicate the country or territory of origin. For instance, the domain "xyz.ca" is Canadian, and the domain "xyz.jp" would be Japanese. Though nearly every sovereign nation has a domain name, that is not a guarantee of a country's Internet capabilities, as those are subject to current technical conditions and political situations.

For a complete listing of all the names available, go to http://www.ee.ic.ac.uk/misc/country-codes.html.

Where the Internet is Not Welcome

Not all countries are enthusiastically embracing the information superhighway. Indeed, many nations are considering or have implemented strict laws regulating who can go online and for what purpose. Some governments have banned Internet access altogether.

Among the governments working most vigorously to forbid or sharply curtail Internet privileges for its citizens are China, Cuba, Indonesia, Iran, Iraq, North Korea, Singapore, Vietnam and many of the Persian Gulf states. Even nations that otherwise support democracy and free speech have taken steps to regulate online content (in attempts, for instance, to censor pornography and "hate speech," or to prevent the spread of classified government information).

For the latest news regarding international Net regulations and censorship, visit the Electronic Frontier Foundation's Plague of Freedom page at http://www.eff.org/~declan/global/.

source:http://www.centerspan.org/tutorial/domain.htm

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