Catalonia a 'virtual' nation as web lets .cat out of bag

0 Comments | AFP, September, 2005

MADRID (AFP) — Web domain authorities in the United States have handed the eastern Spanish region of Catalonia 'virtual' national status by approving ".cat" for Internet sites in Catalan and pertaining to Catalan culture.

"For the Generalitat (regional government), this signifies that the Catalan linguistic and cultural community in the whole world will be able to identify itself everywhere with a domain which places us, wholly normally, beside other languages and cultures which identify various states and nations," University research and information councillor Carles Sola said on Friday.

The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, ICANN, the domain regulator, validated a submission by Catalonia's Associacio PUNTCAT (http://www.puntcat.org) which was...