The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, which grants top-level domain names (e.g. .com, .org, .xxx), is considering 1,410 new domain requests from nearly 2,000 companies. Several nations have raised objections:
Australia was offended by the idea of .wtf (and plenty else besides), the Saudis couldn’t fathom why Vatican should be given .catholic, Brazil argued against granting .amazon to Amazon, and India took issue with Chrysler’s application for .ram. Of these, India has perhaps the strongest case. … The objection arises from an unfortunate homonym: Ram, pronounced with a long “a,” is also the name of one of Hinduism’s chief gods. “What if someone registers a domain name such as http://www.sex.ram? It could create a lot of communal tension in the country,” a government official told the Business Standard newspaper. India has argued that under the nation’s laws, trademarks can be denied if they stand to hurt religious sentiments.
Other contested terms include .africa, .halal, .islam, .army., .basketball, and .wine (which raised the hackles of both the French and the Iranians).
The Dish 