TUNIS,
November 16 (IslamOnline.net & News Agencies) – The World Summit
on the Information Society (WSIS) opened in Tunis on Wednesday,
November 16, with an agreement that entrenched the US dominance over
the domain-name system that guides traffic around the Internet.
The
negotiators also said they will set up a first-of-its-kind forum to
discuss "spam" e-mail and other Internet issues and explore
ways to narrow the technology gap between rich and poor countries,
Reuters reported.
The
European Commission, however, said in a statement that no country will
be involved in decisions affecting another country's domain name, such
as .be for Belgium.
The
agreement averted a potentially damaging split between the United
States and the rest of the world over control of the Internet.
Countries
such as China and Iran had sought UN oversight of the Internet
Corporation For Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) or the Internet
governance, while the EU had also sought to internationalise the
online control.
Digital
Divide
The
summit kicked off with the ultimate aim of reducing the global
"digital divide" and spreading the IT revolution to poor
countries as US insisted not to give up its exclusive control of the
Internet, reported Agence France-Presse (AFP).
The
UN-organized three-day event was formally opened by Tunisian President
Zine El Abidine ben Ali amid a simmering row over the host country bad
track record in freedom of expression.
UN
Secretary General Kofi Annan, who launched the information summit
process for developing nations in 2001, joined some 50 government
leaders and about 10,000 participants at the conference.
African
countries dominated the top-flight political attendance with Nigerian
President Olusegun Obasanjo, Senegal's Abdulaye Wade and Libyan leader
Moammar Gaddafi.
Obasanjo
and Wade are due to launch a public appeal for more support in Tunis.
The fund has so far gathered 5.5 million euros ($6.4 million) from its
21 members.
Poor
countries felt disappointed two years ago when their wealthy
counterparts refused to back a so-called "digital solidarity
fund."
Conspicuous
among the attendees was Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom, who
arrived on Tuesday, November 15, the first time that an Israeli plane
carrying an official delegation has flown directly to the North
African country.
