Ann Arbor, Michigan USA, June 01, 2001- WALID, Inc. signed an agreement today with the Russian Institute for Public Networks (RIPN) - the registry for .ru domain names. Under the agreement, WALID, Inc. will provide RIPN with the technology needed to allow the use of Cyrillic character domain names registered under the .ru registry. For the first time, Russian users will be able to register domain names in their native language in their country's registry. WALID WorldConnect™ software will be made available free of charge by RIPN to Internet users to enable resolution of Cyrillic domain names. This marks a giant step in Russia for making the Internet accessible to all users without regard to language. WALID WorldConnect is also offered as a key enabler in the VeriSign Internationalized Domain Name Testbed.

"It is important to see major world registries such as .ru adopt our technology," said Cruse W. Moss, Chairman and CEO of WALID, Inc. "Our technology was carefully evaluated by .ru to be consistent with their registry system. We believe that the anticipated deployment of the WALID technology by global registries will bring significant benefits to Internet users worldwide."

"We observe very high demand from the Russian Internet community for multilingual domains and enabling software. WALID WorldConnect resolution software is an elegant solution for Cyrillic domain names not only for .ru but also for .com, .net, .org. and meets all of our specifications." said Dr. Alexei P. Platonov, Director of RIPN.

RIPN will start accepting registrations for Cyrillic .ru domain names by this summer. As part of the agreement, WALID, Inc. will become an authorized reseller outside of the Russian Federation for .ru domain names. The addition of this registry expands WALID's growing list of domain name services. WALID already registers multilingual .com, .net and .org names in several languages.

About WALID: WALID, Inc., a privately held company headquartered in Ann Arbor, Michigan, provides a complete patented solution for registering and resolving multilingual Internet domain names. Through the registration and resolution of non-English domain names, WALID’s WorldClass Solutions, including WorldConnect™, enables businesses, organizations, and individuals to establish a unique Internet presence to conduct global commerce and communicate in any language. WALID, Inc., 2245 S. State St., Ann Arbor, MI 48104, USA http://www.walid.com

About RIPN:: Russian Institute for Public Networks is a Nonprofit Organization founded in 1992. Its founders are Russian Ministry for Higher Education, Russian Ministry for Industry, Science, and Technology and Russian Research Centre "Kurchatov Institute". RIPN executes technical support of Russian Backbone Network for R&E organisations (RBNet) and North Moscow Backbone Network, coordinates Moscow Internet eXchange (MSK-IX), and participates in Russian-American project MIRNet. Administration of .ru/.su network information centers was delegated to RIPN since 1993.
123182, Russia, Moscow, Kurchatov square, 1 (ROSNIIROS) http://www.ripn.net

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