WO2001050334A1

WO2001050334A1 - System for using domain names in the user's preferred language on the internet

Info

Publication number: WO2001050334A1
Application number: PCT/IB2000/001850
Authority: WO
Inventors: Won Ho Chun; Sung Jae Shim
Original assignee: Dualname, Inc.
Priority date: 1999-12-30
Filing date: 2000-12-12
Publication date: 2001-07-12
Also published as: JP2001249884A; KR20010066754A; AU2211001A

Abstract

The invention described a system (150) that allows a user (101) to enter domain names (202) in any language of the user's preference by automatically converting them into the corresponding real domain names in English with the Domain Name System. The system incorporates two conversion methods. The first is to convert the coded portions of a domain name (207). Each coded portion in English is pre-assigned an equivalnet word or code in the user's preference language and the equivalent word or code entered is converted into the corresponding real coded portion in English (207). The second method is to convert the remaining portion of a domain name. The user (101) enter each portion in the user preferred language as the corresponding real portion in English is transliterated into the user's preferred language in accordance to the standard pronunciation of English words.

Description

SYSTEM FOR USING DOMAIN NAMES IN THE USER'S PREFERRED

LANGUAGE ON THE INTERNET

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The present invention relates generally to a domain name protocol for the Internet, and more particularly, to a system that allows an Internet user to enter domain names in any language of the user's preference by automatically converting them into the corresponding real domain names in English that comply with the Domain Name System (DNS) presently used for the Internet.

Discussion of the Related Art

The Internet is a worldwide communications network. On the Internet, data is transmitted through a series of protocols known collectively as the Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP). The Internet is built in layers that revolve around the TCP/IP protocol. Each computer connected to the Internet has a unique IP address that identifies the computer as a host on the Internet. Currently, the IP address is a string of 32 bits, which in turn are divided into four 8-bit segments. Then, each 8-bit segment is converted to a decimal number, which is up to three digits in length. Finally, these four decimal numbers are separated by dots. IP addresses may be enlarged in the future to accommodate more hosts on the Internet.

Numeric IP addresses in dotted decimal notation are not so easy to remember. Thus, the DNS provides a user-friendly, mnemonic equivalent of each numeric IP address. The DNS organizes hosts on the Internet by dividing the Internet into a series of component networks called domains, and each host on the Internet belongs to one of these domains. The DNS overlays the IP address of each host on the Internet with a unique series of characters called a domain name. Each domain name corresponds to exactly one IP address. Domains on the Internet are first classified into one of top-level domains. The top-level domains currently being used include generic categories (i.e., seven generic organization codes including com, edu, gov, int, mil, net, and org) that are mainly used in the United States and geographic categories (i.e., approximately 239 country codes such as kr, uk, etc.) that are mainly used in the other countries. Within each top-level domain is a continuing hierarchy of sub-domains with second-level domains directly under the respective top- level domain.

Conventionally, domain names are typically in the form of 'hostname.entityname.entitycode' (e.g., 'www.yahoo.com') or 'hostname.entityname.entitycode.countrycode' (e.g., 'www.yahoo.co.kr'). The portion of 'hostname' is typically the name of the server host or cluster of server hosts connected to the Internet. The portion of 'entityname' is often the name of the entity that has the domain name. The portion of 'entitycode' is the organization code for the entity. In the example ofwww.yahoo.com,' 'www' is the name of the server host (third-level domain), 'yahoo' is the name of the entity (second-level domain), and 'com' is the organization code for the entity (first-level or top-level domain). Most domain names in the United States are in this form as they omit the portion of 'countrycode.' The portion of 'countrycode' is the code for the country where the entity is located. In the example of 'www.yahoo.co.kr,' 'www' is the name of the server host (fourth-level domain), 'yahoo' is the name of the entity (third-level domain), 'co' is the organization code for the entity (second-level domain), and 'kr' is the country code of Korea (first- level domain). Most domain names in countries other than the United States are in this form. There may be more than one sub-domain under the portion of 'entityname,' whereupon any two adjacent sub-domains are separated by a dot in between.

Domain names are valuable to Internet users as a main identifier of hosts on the Internet. However, the current DNS uses mainly English in naming hosts or clusters of hosts on the Internet. More specifically, the DNS uses only the letters of the basic Latin alphabet (case-insensitive), the decimal digits (0-9) and the hyphen (-). While domain names with these characters are easy to remember and input for those who understand English, they are cumbersome for those who do not understand English. There are many current as well as potential users of the Internet who speak and read languages that are less universal than English. This fact can diminish the international scope of the Internet. Given the large number of people who do not understand English as well as the wide range of uses of domain names on the Internet, it is highly desirable to allow using not only domain names in English but also alias in other languages that are less universal but easier to remember and type in local contexts.

The Internet community has begun to recognize the need for domain names in other languages. In order to make the Internet truly international, several methods have been proposed for using domain names in other languages on the Internet. In general, these methods proposed so far can be classified into two groups. One group of methods proposes to introduce a new "zero- level" domain building the root of a new domain branch and encode the Universal Character Set (ISO 10646 or Unicode) into the limited set of domain names ("Internalization of domain names." M. Duerst, 1997). However, these methods put too much of a burden on the DNS and create complex dependencies with semantics. Instead of using a special encoding and burdening the DNS, another group of methods proposes to build and use a separate directory service for domain names in other languages ("Domain Names and Company Name Retrieval," J. Klensin and T. Wolf, 1996). But defining unique domain names again for separate services duplicates much of the work already done for the DNS, requires complex implementation efforts, and does not solve a capacity problem with the DNS.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention is directed to a system that substantially obviates one or more of the problems due to limitations and disadvantages of the related art.

An object of the present invention is to provide a system that allows Internet users to enter virtual domain names in the local language that are often more intuitive and meaningful in a local context than real domain names in English.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that is fully compatible with the current DNS without having to change the DNS.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that preserves the syntax of current domain names, that is, the hierarchical dotted notation, with which Internet users are familiar.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system where the conversion from virtual domain names in the local language into their corresponding real domain names in English takes place automatically and is transparent to the user.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a system that can be implemented at the user host and so does not need any separate directory service for the conversion.

Additional features and advantages of the invention will be set forth in the description which follows, and in part will be apparent from the description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. The objectives and other advantages of the invention will be realized and attained by the structure particularly pointed out in the written description and claims hereof as well as the appended drawings.

To achieve these and other advantages and in accordance with the purpose of the present invention, as embodied and broadly described, a method for converting, using a computer system, a virtual domain name in a first language, such as Korean, into a corresponding real domain name in a second language, such as English, is described. The domain name comprises at least a coded portion and an entity-defined portion. The method comprises the steps of: receiving the virtual domain name as an input to the computer system; determining whether the virtual domain name entered in the computer system contains any portions in the first language; and converting the portion of the virtual domain name in the first language into a corresponding portion of the real domain name in the second language by matching the first language portion with either one of translated or transliterated word or code in the second language.

According to one aspect of the preferred embodiment, if the virtual domain name contains a portion in the first language, then the preferred embodiment of the present invention decomposes the domain name into a first language portion and a second language portion; then decomposes the first language portion into the coded portion and the entity-defined portion; and converts the coded and/or entity-defined portion of the first language portion into a corresponding coded and/or entity- defined portion, respectively, in the second language.

According to another aspect of the preferred embodiment, the method further comprises determining whether there is only one real domain name in the second language that corresponds to the virtual domain name entered in the computer system. If there is only one corresponding real domain name in the second language, then using the real domain name as an output from the computer system. If there is more then one corresponding real domain name in the second language, then displaying all corresponding domain names in the second language to be selected by a user.

According to one aspect of the preferred embodiment, the step of converting the coded portion in the first language into the corresponding coded portion in the second language includes decomposing the coded portions in the first language into a top-level coded portion and a second- level coded portion; converting the top-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding top-level coded portion in the second language; and converting the second-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding second-level coded portion in the second language.

In particular, the step of converting the top-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding top-level coded portion in the second language includes matching the top-level coded portion in the first language with the corresponding top-level coded portion in the second language, wherein each top-level coded portion in the second language is pre-assigned an equivalent top-level coded portion in the first language.

Similarly, the step of converting the second-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding second-level coded portion in the second language includes matching the second- level coded portion in the first language with the corresponding second-level coded portion in the second language, wherein each second-level coded portion in the second language is pre-assigned an equivalent second-level coded portion in the first language.

Alternatively, the step of converting the top- and second-level coded portions in the first language into the corresponding top- and second-level coded portions in the second language includes decomposing the top- and second-level coded portion in the first language into individual letter or sets of letters that represent individual phoneme; transliterating the phonemes in the first language into the phonemes of the second language; and compiling all of the transliterated phonemes representative of the top- and second-level coded portion in the first language into the top- and second-level coded portion of the second language.

Also, the step of converting the top- and second-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding top- and second-level coded portion in the second language includes converting the top- and second-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding top- and second- level coded portion in the second language based on the principles for transliteration of the first language into the second language pursuant to a standard pronunciation of individual second language letters in the first language; and compiling all of the transliterated letters representative of the top- and second-level coded portion of the first language into the top- and second-level coded portion of the second language.

According to another aspect of the preferred embodiment, the step of converting the entity- defined portion in the first language into the corresponding entity-defined portions in the second language includes converting the entity-defined portion in the first language into a corresponding entity-defined portion in the second language, wherein at least a part of the entity-defined portion in the first language contained in the virtual domain name is transliterated into the second language.

In particular, the step of converting the entity-defined portion in the first language into the corresponding entity-defined portion in the second language includes decomposing the entity- defined portions in the first language into phonemes; transliterating the phonemes in the first language into the phonemes of the second language and-compiling all of the transliterated phonemes representative of the entity-defined portion in the firs language into the entity-defined portion of the second language. Alternatively, the entity-defined portion in the first language is converted into the corresponding entity-defined portion in the second language based on the principles for transliteration of the first language into the second language pursuant to a standard pronunciation of individual second language letters in the first language. Furthermore, the user may enter an entire entity-defined portion or a part of the entity- defined portion in the first language based on the principles of transliteration pursuant to a standard pronunciation of individual second language words or vocabularies in the first language. In this case, the entire entity-defined portion or the part of the entity-defined portion entered in the first language is converted into a corresponding second language word or vocabulary pursuant to the principles for standard transliteration of individual second language words or vocabularies in the first language.

For example, pursuant to the principles for standard transliteration of individual English language words or vocabularies in Korean language, English word "shopping mall" is transliterated to Korean language " it^ -§-". Accordingly, a virtual entity-defined portion entered in Korean language "&- -§^•" is converted into a real entity-defined portion in English "shopping mall" pursuant to the principles for standard transliteration of individual English language words in Korean language. To this end, the conversion system of the present invention includes widely used words or vocabularies of the second language and corresponding transliteration languages pursuant to the principles of standard transliteration in the first language.

According to another aspect of the preferred embodiment, the step of converting the entity- defined portion in the first language into the corresponding entity-defined portion in the second language, by using the phonemes of the first and second languages includes decomposing the entity- defined portion in the first language into individual letters so that each individual letter represents an individual phoneme of the first language, which is an inverse of transcription of phonemes of the first language into letters in the first language; matching each individual phoneme of the first language with an equivalent second language phoneme that has the substantially the same pronunciation; transcribing each second language phoneme into the corresponding letter in the second language based upon the standard pronunciation of the second language; and compiling all the letters transcribed into the second language.

In the preferred embodiment, the conversion of the portion of the virtual domain name in the first language into the real domain name in the second language is processed ih a user's host computer system or a network server system before the real domain name request is sent to a DNS server.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description and the following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory and are intended to provide a further explanation of the invention as claimed. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The accompanying drawings, which are included to provide a further understanding of the invention and are incorporated in and constitute a part of this specification, illustrate embodiments of the invention and, together with the description, serve to explain the principles of the invention.

Fig. 1 illustrates a block diagram of the routing of domain name request and response in the DNS and a preferred arrangement of the conversion system of the present invention;

Fig. 2 illustrates the conversion process of a virtual domain name entered in the local language into the corresponding real domain name in English that complies with the DNS;

Fig. 3 illustrates the conversion process of virtual coded portions entered in the local language into the corresponding real coded portions in English;

Fig. 4 illustrates the conversion process of virtual entity-defined portions entered in the local language into the corresponding real entity-defined portions in English; and

Fig. 5 illustrates the conversion process of a virtual entity-defined portion entered in the local language into the corresponding real entity-defined portion in English.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

With reference to the drawings, and in particular to Figs. 1-5 thereof, a conversion system embodying the principles and concepts of the present invention will be described.

For purposes of describing the preferred embodiments of the present invention^ a host is generally described as any computer attached to the Internet. A user host is a computer with which a user is connected to the Internet, and a server host is a computer that provides services to user hosts. A local DNS server is a computer that holds a portion of the DNS database. A root DNS server is a computer that keeps comprehensive information about IP addresses and the corresponding domain names in its domain.

The present invention deals with a system that allows the Internet user to enter domain names in any language of the user's preference. More specifically, the system automatically converts domain names entered in the user's preferred language into the corresponding real domain names in English that comply with the DNS. For purposes of description herein, the language of the user's preference shall be referred to as "the local language," as it is usually in a local context. For purposes of description herein, domain names entered in the local language shall be referred to as "virtual domain names," as they are not registered with the DNS but used for the convenience of users. For purposes of description herein, domain names in English shall be referred to as "real domain names," as they are used in the DNS.

Fig. I shows a block diagram of the routing of domain name request and response in the DNS and a preferred arrangement of the conversion system 150 of the present invention. First, the user 101 enters a domain name in English at the user's host. Second, the user host 103 sends the domain name request to its local DNS server 105 for the domain name of the server host for which it needs the corresponding IP address. The local DNS server 105 keeps track of domain names and the corresponding IP addresses of its designated group of hosts or clusters of hosts. Third, the local DNS server 105 queries the domain name in its file.

If the local DNS server 105 recognizes the domain name in its file, it sends the corresponding IP address back to the user host. If not, the local DNS server 105 passes the request on to the nearest root DNS server 107. There are currently about thirteen root DNS servers that keep comprehensive information of domain names and the corresponding IP addresses in their respective domain on the Internet. If the root DNS server 107 recognizes the domain name in its file, it sends the corresponding IP address back to the local DNS server 105, which in turn sends the IP address back to the user host. Then, using the IP address following the TCP/IP protocol, a connection is established between the user host 103 and the server host to which the user requests an access. This routing process of domain name request and response takes place automatically and is completely transparent to the user. In a preferred arrangement, the conversion system of the present invention is implemented at the user host 103 before the domain name request is sent to the local DNS server 105.

The conversion system 150 of the present invention incorporates two conversion methods. The first method is to convert the coded portions of domain names such as organization codes, geographic regional codes and country codes. In this method, each real coded portion in English is pre-assigned a virtual equivalent word or code in the local language based upon the meaning of the real coded portion in English. Then, the virtual equivalent word or code entered in the local language is converted into the corresponding real coded portion in English.

The second method, which is at the core of the conversion system 150, is to convert the remaining portions of domain names, such as organization names, brand names, trademarks, and server host names. In this method, the user enters each portion in the local language as the corresponding real portion in English is transliterated into the local language in accordance with the standard pronunciation of English words or letters in the local language. Then, the letters of the portion entered in the local language are converted into the corresponding English letters by matching the phonemes of the portion entered in the local language with English phonemes that have the same or most proximate sounds and transcribing the English phonemes into the corresponding English letters. For purposes of description herein, these portions of a domain name shall be referred to as the "entity-defined" portions, as they are defined by the entity that has the registered domain name.

Fig. 2 illustrates the conversion process of a virtual domain name entered in the local language into the corresponding real domain name in English that complies with the DNS. The conversion system 150 installed at the user host 103 starts at step 201 and receives a domain name from the user 202. The domain name can be entered in the local language in its entirety, English in its entirety, or a combination of letters in the local language and English. The conversion process includes an inquiry into whether any portion of the domain name is in the local language 203.

If the entire domain name is in English, the domain name does not need any conversion, and so, it bypasses the conversion process 211. If the domain name includes any portions in the local language, the domain name is decomposed into the portions in the local language and the portions in English 204. The portions in the local language are further decomposed into the coded portions and the entity-defined portions 205, while the portions in English bypass the remaining conversion process 209. Each coded portion in the local language, which was entered as pre-assigned in the local language, is converted into the corresponding coded portion in English 207. Step 207 is further illustrated in Fig. 3.

Each entity-defined portion in the local language, which was entered as the corresponding real entity-defined portion is transliterated into the local language, is converted into the corresponding entity-defined portion in English, using the principles for transliteration of the local language into English or using the phonemes of the local language and English as a medium for the conversion 208. Step 208 is further illustrated in Fig. 4. All the portions, which are now converted into English, are united or compiled into the corresponding real domain name in English in step 209.

An inquiry is made about whether there is only one corresponding real domain name in English in step 210. If there is only one corresponding real domain name in English, it is sent back to the software for Internet access at the user host in step 211. If there is more than one corresponding real domain name in English, all the corresponding real domain names in English are displayed to the user in step 212. The user chooses one of them in step 213, which in turn is sent back to the software for Internet access at the user host in step 211. The conversion process ends at step 214. The first conversion step or method according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention converts virtual coded portions entered in the local language into the corresponding real coded portions in English. For this conversion, each of the real coded portions in English (i.e., first-level domain codes in the United States, and first-level and second-level domain codes in the other countries) is pre-assigned a virtual equivalent code or word in the local language. The virtual code or word in the local language has the same meaning in the local language as its corresponding real code in English.

Like the real codes in English that were assigned by the DNS, the virtual codes or words in the local language are assigned so that local users can use them unambiguously in the local context. Domain names in each country other than the United States have a small number of second-level domain codes (i.e., organization codes and geographic regional codes) directly under a first-level domain code (i.e., country code). Since it matches a pre-assigned virtual code or word in the local language directly with the corresponding code in English, the first conversion method does not create any complex dependencies with semantics.

Fig. 3 illustrates the conversion process of virtual coded portions entered in the local language into the corresponding real coded portions in English, with an example of Korean-to- English conversion. The first conversion method of the conversion system starts when the domain name entered by the user contains any coded portions in the local language 301. It receives the virtual coded portions in the local language in step 302. The virtual coded portions in the local language are decomposed into the top-level coded portion and the second-level coded portion 303. The virtual top-level coded portion in the local language is converted into the corresponding real top-level code in English in step 304.

Table 305 shows some examples of the real top-level codes in English and their corresponding virtual words in Korean that are pre-assigned and entered by the user. The virtual second-level coded portion in the local language is also converted into the corresponding real second-level code in English in step 306. Table 307 shows some examples of the real second-level codes in English and their corresponding virtual words in Korean that are pre-assigned and entered by the user. All the coded portions, which are now converted into English, are united together in step 308 and sent to step 209 in Fig. 2 for composition with the entity-defined portions that are converted into English in step 309. The first conversion method of the conversion system ends at step 310.

For example, for users who want to visit server hosts in the U.S. using virtual domain names in Korean, the first conversion method matches the seven first-level domain codes (i.e., organization codes) used in the U.S. with their virtual equivalents in Korean. Each of the first-level domain codes in English can be pre-assigned a virtual equivalent in Korean as follows: 'com' = O| S , ^' 'edu' = 'Ij-Jil , ' 'gov' = '§ ¥ , ' 'int' = '^Hl , ' 'mil' = ' § , ' 'net' = ' HI ≡ , ' and 'org^* = ' &X-II . ' These words in Korean have exactly the same meanings in Korean as their equivalents in English. Korean users can use them unambiguously in the local context. Also, for users who want to visit server hosts in Korea using virtual domain names in Korean, the first conversion method of the present invention matches in the same way the thirty second-level domain codes (i.e., seven organization codes and twenty-three geographic regional codes) used in Korea with pre-assigned virtual equivalents in Korean.

In this case, the first-level domain code 'kr' (i.e., the country code for Korea) can be matched with a virtual equivalent 'ε.^' in Korean. For users who want to visit server hosts in other countries using virtual domain names in Korean, the first conversion method of the present invention matches in the same way the 239 first-level domain codes (i.e., country codes) and each country's second-level domain codes with pre-assigned virtual equivalents in Korean.

The second conversion step or method according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention converts virtual entity-defined portions entered in the local language into the corresponding real entity-defined portions in English. This method uses the phonemes of the local language and English as a medium for the conversion. Phonemes are the units of the sound system of a language, and they approximate closely to the sounds represented by the letters used. In the second conversion step, the user enters a virtual entity-defined portion in the local language as the corresponding real entity-defined portion in English is transliterated into the local language based upon the standard-pronunciation of English words or letters in the local language. Then, the second conversion step converts the virtual entity-defined portion entered in the local language into the corresponding real entity-defined portion in English in the following steps.

First, based upon the standard pronunciation of the local language, the virtual entity-defined portion entered in the local language is decomposed into individual letters or sets of letters so that each individual letter or set of letters can represent an individual phoneme of the local language. Second, each individual phoneme of the local language is matched with an equivalent English phoneme that has the same or proximate sound. Third, based upon the standard pronunciation of English, each English phoneme is represented by a letter or set of letters in English. Fourth, all the letters or set of letters in. English are united to compose the corresponding real entity-defined portion in English. The resulting entity-defined portion in English would be pronounced as the same or almost the same as the entity-defined portion entered in the local language, since both represent the phonemes that have the same or proximate sounds. Thus, it is easy for the user to deduce the virtual entity-defined portion in the local language that corresponds to the real entity-defined portion in English.

For example, a virtual entity-defined portion 'Of -?' entered in Korean is converted into a real entity-defined portion 'yahoo' in English, since the phonemes represented by '01--?' in Korean have the same sounds as the phonemes represented by 'yahoo' in English. It is easy for the user to deduce '0|* -' in Korean as the virtual equivalent of 'yahoo' in English, because 'yahoo' in English is transliterated as '01--?' in Korean in accordance with the standard pronunciation of English words in Korean. That is, '01--?' in Korean is pronounced as the same as 'yahoo' in English. Many real domain names in countries, where English is not the official language, have their entity- defined portions as transliterated into English. Most entity-defined portions transliterated into English do not have any meanings in English.

However, the originals in the local language before the transliteration into English have some meanings in the local context, usually indicating organization names, brand names, trademarks, and so on. The second conversion method allows using these original words in the local language that are more intuitive and meaningful in the local context.

For example, a Korean word 'AI I ' that means 'century' in English is transliterated into 'segi' in English, which may be used as an entity-defined portion of a real domain name in Korea. Then, the second conversion method converts 'All 1\ ' entered in Korean into 'segi' in English, since the phonemes represented by ' Λ1 I ' in Korean have the same sounds as the phonemes represented by 'segi' in English. In the local context, 'λl I ' in Korean is easier to remember and type and more intuitive and meaningful than 'segi' in English.

Since it uses the phonemes of the local language and English as a medium for the conversion, the second conversion method of the present invention does not create such complexities as those conversion methods based upon semantics do. Further, most languages have a small number of phonemes. For example, Korean has nineteen consonant phonemes and twenty-one vowel phonemes. English has twenty-four consonant phonemes and twenty vowel phonemes. Each of the Korean phonemes can be matched with an English phoneme that has the same or proximate sound, and vice versa. Some letters or sets of letters of a language may represent more than one phoneme, and some phonemes of a language may be represented by more than one letter or sets of letters. But these variations usually occur in particular situations.

For example, the phoneme of a Korean letter ' ≡- ' has the same sound as the phoneme of an English letter 'r' before a vowel, and it has the same sound as the phoneme as an English letter '1' before a consonant or at the end of a word. Thus, a Korean letter " can be matched with either 'r' or 'I' in English. Also, the phoneme of an English letter T has the same sound as the phoneme of a Korean letter ' ^Ξ ' before a consonant or at the end of a word, and it has the same sound as the phoneme of a set of two Korean letters ' ≡** ≡ ' before a vowel. Thus, either a Korean letter ' ≡- ' or a set of Korean letters ' ≡- ^Ξ ' can be matched with an English letter '1.' The second conversion method incorporates the special provisions to deal with such variations that occur in particular situations.

Many countries where English is not the primary language have a set of principles for transliteration between the local language and English (Latin or Roman at large) in order to ensure unambiguous transliteration between the two languages. Based upon the standard pronunciation of the local language and English, these principles for transliteration stipulate how letters or sets of letters in the local language are directly transliterated into equivalent letters or sets of letters in English and vice versa.

For example, in accordance with the principles for transliteration of Korean into English, which were set by the Korean government, a Korean word ' All \ ' is directly transliterated into 'segi' in English. More specifically, Korean letters or sets of letters, ' ,' HI ,' ' ^""■ ,' and ' ] ,' are directly transliterated into English letters, 's,' 'e,' 'g,' and 'i,' respectively. The phonemes of the local language and English that have the same or proximate sounds are used as the basis of the principles for transliteration between the two languages. Thus, the second conversion method of the present invention can use directly the principles for transliteration between the local language and English. For a local language for which the principles for transliteration between the local language and English are available, the second conversion method uses the principles for transliteration, skipping the conversion steps of matching the phonemes of the local language and English that have the same or proximate sounds. For a local language for which the principles for transliteration between the local language and English are not readily available, the second conversion method goes through the aforementioned conversion steps using the phonemes of the local language and English as a medium of the conversion. Not every letter or set of letters in the local language may be neatly matched with only one letter or set of letters in English. In practice, people often transliterate the same word in the local language differently into English or vice versa, using common or idiomatic expressions of the word.

For example, a Korean word '§ ?}' that means 'center' in English is transliterated into only 'chungang' in English in accordance with the principles for transliteration of Korean into English. Alternatively, people often transliterate '§ ^1"' in Korean into 'jungang' in English, as the first consonant ' • - of 's cf' in Korean is often transliterated into a consonant 'j' in English. Also, the first vowel 'T ' of 'ϋ el^"' in Korean is often transliterated into two vowels 'oo' in English. So there are four possible English equivalents that match with a Korean word ' § °i , ' including 'chungang,' 'jungang,' 'choongang,' and 'joongang.' Such variations caused by common usages or idiomatic expressions are also incorporated in the second conversion method.

When there are more than one English equivalent for a virtual entity-defined portion entered in the local language, the conversion system of the present invention displays all the English equivalents to the user and has the user try them and choose one. When the user locates the English equivalent that the user wants, the conversion system remembers it for future usage as the real domain name in English that corresponds to the virtual domain name entered in the local language.

Many real domain names in English also have acronyms, abbreviations or initials within - their entity-defined portions. When an acronym, abbreviation or initial is used as a part of or an entire real entity-defined portion in English, the second conversion method of the present invention matches each individual sets of letters in the local language with the corresponding letters in English in accordance with the standard transliteration of individual English letters in the local language.

In accordance with the standard transliteration of individual English letters in Korean, for example, English letters 'i,' 'b' and 'm' in 'ibm' are transliterated into '01-01 ,' 'til ' and '§-§ ' in Korean, respectively. So, a virtual entity-defined portion '0 r 01 U I S ' entered in Korean can be converted into a real entity-defined portion 'ibm' in English in accordance with the standard transliteration of individual English letters in Korean. Also, the same virtual entity-defined portion '0|-0| ϋ| <_^■_! ' entered in Korean can be converted into a real entity-defined portion 'aibiaem' in English in accordance with the principles for transliteration of Korean into English. Then, the conversion system of the present system displays both equivalents in English and has the user try them and choose one. When the user locates the English equivalent that the user wants, that is, - 'ibm' in this example, the conversion system remembers it for future usage as the real domain name in English that corresponds to the virtual domain name entered in the local language. Fig. 4 illustrates the conversion process of virtual entity-defined portions entered in the local language into the corresponding real entity-defined portions in English, with an example of Korean- to-English conversion. The second conversion step of the conversion system starts when the domain name entered contains any entity-defined portions in the local language in step 401. It receives the virtual entity-defined portions in the local language in step 402. The virtual entity- defined portions in the local language are decomposed into individual entity-defined portions in step 403. Each individual virtual entity-defined portion in the local language is converted into the corresponding real entity-defined portion in English in step 404. In this conversion step, if the virtual entity-defined portion includes a transliteration language pursuant to the principles of standard transliteration of individual English words or vocabularies in the local language, the transliteration language is converted into a corresponding English word or vocabulary in step 404. Table 405 shows some examples of English words and vocabularies, which are used at step 404, and corresponding transliteration languages in Korean language.

Next, following the principles for transliteration from the local language into English or matching the phonemes represented by the virtual entity-defined portion in the local language with the same or proximate phonemes of English, the individual virtual entity-defined portion in the local language is converted into the corresponding real entity-defined portion in English in step 406. Table 407 shows some examples of the principles for transliteration of Korean letters into English letters, which are used at step 406.

Also, the individual sets of letters of each individual' irtual entity-defined portion in the local language are converted into the corresponding English letters in step 408 in accordance with the standard transliteration of individual English letters in the local language, for the case the corresponding real entity-defined portion in English contains an acronym, abbreviation or initials as a part of or an entire entity-defined portion in English. Table 409 shows some examples of English letters and their corresponding Korean words, which are used at step 408.

All the entity-defined portions, which are now in English, are united together in step 410, and sent to step 209 in Fig. 2 for composition with the coded portions that are converted into English in step 411. The second conversion method of the conversion system ends at step 412.

The conversion system of the present invention allows the user to enter a domain name mixed with letters in the local language and English, since the conversion takes place on each individual portion of the domain name and each individual letter or set of letters of the portion. A user may prefer to enter some portions of a domain name in English, while entering the other portions of the domain name in the local language. In this case, the portions entered in English pass over the conversion process, and only the portions entered in the local language go through the conversion process.

For example, a Korean user can enter 'alpha.AI I . co.kr' to access the server host whose real domain name in English is 'alpha.segi.co.kr.' Then, only the portion ' All D\ ' entered in Korean is converted into the corresponding portion 'segi' in English in accordance with the principles of the present invention, and the other portions, 'alpha,' 'co' and 'kr' entered in English, pass over the conversion process.

The conversion system of the present invention also allows the user to enter even an entity- defined portion mixed with letters in the local language and English. For example, a Korean user can enter 'www.ibm i_} S Ei .com' to access the server host whose real domain name in English is 'www.ibmcomputer.com.' Then, only the part 'I SEI ' entered in Korean is converted into the equivalent 'computer' in English in accordance with the principles of the present invention, while the remaining parts of the entity-defined portion and the other portions pass over the conversion process.

The conversion system of the present invention allows the user to enter other identifiers used on the Internet in the local language, such as user IDs of e-mail addresses, names of directories and subdirectories, names of Web pages and files, keywords used in search engines and directory services, and so on.

For example, a virtual e-mail address ' '@0t***f***-.-7| 3.&=^' entered in Korean is converted into the corresponding real e-mail address 'shim@yahoo.co.kr' in English, as ' !,' 'Of--?,' '3I S ,' and '§!^■=■■ ' in Korean are matched with 'shim,' 'yahoo,' 'co,' and 'kr' in English, respectively, in accordance with the principles of the present invention. Also, a virtual Web page name ' www.01-

311/tJ ir.html,' which are mixed with Korean and English letters, is also converted into the corresponding real Web page name 'www.yahoo.co.kr/hoegye/ibmun.html' in English, as '0^,' 'J| g ,' '°^^',' 'S| 3j|,' and 'gi g' in Korean are matched with 'yahoo,' 'co,' 'kr,' 'hoegye,' and 'ibmun' in English, respectively, in accordance with the principles of the present invention. Also, a virtual keyword 'S S Ej ' entered in Korean is matched with the corresponding real keyword 'computer' in English, as the word '§-SS' in Korean is matched with the word 'computer' in English in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

In the preferred embodiment, the conversion system of the present invention is implemented at the user's host. That is, the conversion of virtual domain names in the local language into the corresponding real domain names in English takes place at the user's host before domain name requests are sent to the user host's local DNS server. Thus, the conversion system does not need any changes to the DNS.

It is fully compatible with the DNS and transparent to the user. Neither a special encoding nor a separate lookup service is needed to implement the conversion system. The conversion system of the present invention also preserves the hierarchical dotted notation of current domain names, while the principles of the present invention are also applicable to domain names in other possible notations, such as those in a plain language (e.g., 'microsoft windows' rather than 'windows.microsoft.com').

The conversion system of the present invention is also modularized with each module being used for conversion of virtual domain names entered in one local language into the corresponding real domain names in English. Users would need only the module for conversion of their preferred local language into English. For example, a user who prefers to enter virtual domain names in Korean needs only the module for conversion of Korean into English.

The conversion system can be embedded into the software for Internet access such as Web browser and e-mail software or it can work as an add-on to the software for Internet access. In either case, the conversion system captures virtual domain names entered in the local language, converts them into the corresponding real domain names in English, and returns the real domain names in English to the software for Internet access.

This process takes place automatically and is transparent to the user. Even when the DNS accepts and registers domain names in any other languages in addition to English, the conversion system of the present invention allows the user to enter virtual domain names in any language of the user's preference by converting them into the corresponding real domain names in another language. Taken together, these features of the conversion system achieve all the aforementioned objects of the present invention.

The conversion system of the present invention also can be implemented at a central server host or a cluster of local server hosts. A central server host with all the modules of the conversion system can provide the conversion service for all local languages, or a cluster of local server hosts can share the conversion service. In the latter case, each local server host with a module or set of modules can provide the conversion service for the respective local language or set of local languages that are used in a certain country or region.

For example, a local server host in Korea, with the module for Korean- English conversion can provide the conversion service for Korean, and a local server host in Switzerland, with the modules for French-English and German-English conversion, can provide the conversion service for French and German. When the conversion system of the present invention is implemented at a central or local server host, the user accesses the server host's Web page, using the Web browser installed at the user host, and enters a virtual domain name in the local language into the server host's Web page. Then, the server host captures the virtual domain name in the local language and invokes the conversion module for the local language. The conversion module converts the virtual domain name in the local language into the corresponding real domain name in English, following the aforementioned principles of the present invention. After the conversion, the server host may, by the user's preference, send the real domain name in English back to the user host for use by the user or link directly to the server host for which the user requested the real domain name in English.

Fig. 5 illustrates the conversion process of a virtual entity-defined portion entered in the local language into the corresponding real entity-defined portion in English, using the principles for transliteration of the local language into English or using the phonemes of the local language and English as a medium for the conversion. The user enters a virtual entity-defined portion in the local language as the corresponding real entity-defined portion in English is transliterated into the local language following the standard pronunciation of English words or letters in the local language in step 501. In the case that the principles for transliteration between the local language and English are available, the second conversion method of the present invention converts the individual letters or sets of letters of the virtual entity-defined portion in the local language directly into the corresponding letters or sets of letters in English in accordance with the principles for transliteration of the local language into English in step 502.

In the case that the principles for transliteration between the local language and English are not available, the second conversion method of the present invention converts the virtual entity- defined portion in the local language into the corresponding real entity-defined portion in English in the following steps. First, the virtual entity-defined portion entered in the local language is decomposed into individual letters or sets of letters so that each individual letter or set of letters can represent an individual phoneme of the local language, which is the inverse of transcription of phonemes of the local language into letters in the local language in step 503. Second, each individual phoneme of the local language is matched with an equivalent English phoneme that has the same or proximate sound in step 504. Third, based upon the standard pronunciation of English, each English phoneme is transcribed into the corresponding letter of set of letters in English in step 505. In either case, all the letters or sets of letters converted into English are united to compose the corresponding real entity-defined portion in English. The following describes an example of Korean-English conversion executed by the preferred embodiment of the present invention by referring to the figures. A fictional company in Korea, whose name is ' AI I ' in Korean, has a server host that provides Internet services to user hosts. The company registers the server host's domain name as 'web.segi.co.kr/ The first-level domain code 'kr' in English is pre-assigned an equivalent word 'ε!"^' in Korean and both 'kr' in English and ' ε ^' in Korean indicate the country Korea. The second-level domain code 'co' in English is pre-assigned an equivalent word PI S ' in Korean and both 'co' in English and PI S ' in Korean indicate the company or commercial organization. The entity-defined portion 'segi' in English that indicates the company name is transliterated into ' AIPI ' in Korean, and the entity-defined portion 'web' in English that indicates the server host name is transliterated into 'ST in Korean. Using the pre-assigned Korean words and transliterating the entity-defined portions into Korean, the user can easily deduce 'SI . AIPI PI S . E.^' as a virtual domain name in Korean that corresponds to 'web.segi.co.kr,' the real domain name in English.

The user enters 'SI . AIPI PI S . 2_:=ϊ' in Korean to access the server host whose real domain name in English is 'web.segi.co.kr.' The conversion system according to the preferred embodiment of the present invention receives ' Si . AI I P I . ε.¹" ^ ' entered in Korean in step 202 and converts it into 'web.segi.co.kr' in English. 'SI . Ai I PI S . εt^' in Korean is first decomposed into ' SI ' and ' AI I ' (entity-defined portions) and PI S ' and ' ϊ -^ ' (coded portions) in Korean in step 205. The coded portions PI S ' and 'ε ^' in Korean are further decomposed into PI S ' and '&- ' in Korean in step 303.

Also, the entity-defined portions 'SI ' and 'AI I ' in Korean are further decomposed into 'SI ' and 'AIPI ' in Korean in step 403. Then, PI ' and 'ε.¹" -^' in Korean are converted into 'co' in English in step 306 and 'kr' in English in step 304, respectively, since 'co' in English is pre- assigned the equivalent meaning word PI S ' in Korean in step 307 and 'kr' in English are pre- assigned the equivalent meaning word ' l"-^' in Korean in step 305. Also, 'SI' and 'AIPI ' in Korean are converted into 'web' in English and 'segi' in English, respectively, since 'SI ' and ' All D\ ' in Korean are transliterated into 'web' and 'segi' in English in step 406. In this case, since ' τ_ ' in Korean is a transliteration language pursuant to the standard pronunciation of 'web' in English into Korean, 'ϋ ' in Korean is converted into 'web' in English. Alternatively, based upon the principles of transliteration of Korean into English, the letter or set of letters ' ll ' and ' *=* ' of 'SI ' in Korean are transliterated into English letter or set of letter 'we" and "b.^" respectively in step 407.

Also, the letters or set of letters Ά , ' HI , ' ' ^~ι , ' and ' I ' of 'A|p I ' in Korean are transliterated into English letters 's,' 'e,' 'g,' and 'i,' respectively in step 407. The coded portions 'co' and 'kr' in English are united into 'co.kr' in step 308 and the entity-defined portions 'web' and 'segi' in English are united into 'web.segi' in step 410. Finally, both of the coded and entity- defined portions are united into the corresponding real domain name in English 'web.segi.co.kr' in step 209.

In order to make it easier for the user to type in virtual domain names the local language, the conversion system can set the most popular first- and second-level virtual domain codes or words as defaults. In the above example of Korean-English conversion, a first-level virtual word 'ε -^' in Korean can be set as the default for the first-level virtual word in the conversion module for Korean. Also, a second-level virtual word PI ' in Korean can be set as the default for the second-level virtual word in the conversion module for Korean. PI ' in Korean is the pre-assigned equivalent of 'co' in English that is the most popular second-level code in Korea. So the user can enter ' SI . AIP I ' rather than ' SI . AI I P I . Εϊ -^ ' in Korean to access the server host whose real domain name in English is 'web.segi.co.kr.'

These default codes or words are overridden by other first-, and second-level virtual domain codes or words that are entered by the user. Other possible default codes or words include the virtual equivalents of 'com' of domain names in the U.S. and the country code of domain names in each country.

In the preferred embodiment described above, the coded portion of the virtual domain name is converted into a corresponding portion of the real domain name in English by translating and matching the identical meaning word written, for example, in Korean into the coded portion in English. In addition, the entity defined portion written in Korean is transliterated into English based on a standard pronunciation of the user's language. As an alternative method, the coded portion of the virtual domain name written, for example, in Korean may be transliterated into an English equivalent. In such a case, the same transliteration steps described above with respect to the conversion of the entity-defined portion may be used.

In implementing the conversion system of the present invention in the preferred embodiment, the only requirement on the part of users is to use the pre-assigned virtual codes or words in the local language that have the same meanings as the corresponding real coded portions in English. Furthermore, the user may install the conversion system at the user's host and to enter virtual domain names in the local language in accordance with the principles of the present invention. The only requirement on the part of the entity whose server host provides Internet services to user hosts is to have a real domain name in English into which a virtual domain name in the local language is neatly transliterated in accordance with the principles of the present invention.

If the entity has such domain name in English, the entity continues to use it and the user would access the entity's server host by the user's preference using either the real domain name in English or the equivalent virtual domain name in the local language. If the entity does not have such domain name in English, the entity needs to register a new domain name in English into which a virtual domain name in the local language is neatly transliterated in accordance with the principles of the present invention. If the entity wants to keep the current domain name in English for some reasons (e.g., longstanding organization names, brand names, and trademarks), the new domain name in English for which an equivalent virtual domain name in the local language exists in accordance with the principles of the present invention can serve as a linkage to the current domain name in English. In either case, the entity can promote its virtual domain name in the local language for local users, as the virtual domain name in the local language is easier for local users to remember and type and more meaningful in the local context.

Although described in conjunction with interaction over the Internet between a user and a service provider, the present invention may also be applied in any computerized network system which requires interaction of more than one language.

It will be apparent to those skilled in the art that various modifications and variations can be made in the present invention without departing from the spirit or scope of the invention. Thus, it is intended that the present invention cover the modifications and variations of this invention provided they come within the scope of the appended claims and their equivalents.

Claims

WHAT IS CLAIMED IS:

1. A method for converting, using a computer system, a virtual domain name in a first language into a corresponding real domain name in a second language, the domain name comprising at least a coded portion and an entity-defined portion, the method comprising the steps of: receiving the virtual domain name as an input to the computer system; determining whether the virtual domain name entered in the computer system contains any portions in the first language; and converting the portion of the virtual domain name in the first language into a corresponding portion of the real domain name in the second language by matching the first language portion with one of translated and transliterated word in the second language.

2. The method of claim 1 , wherein if the virtual domain name contains a portion in the first language, then decomposing the domain name into a first language portion and a second language portion; ., . decomposing the first language portion into the coded portion and the entity-defined portion; and converting the coded-portion of the first language portion into a corresponding coded portion in the second language.

3. The method of claim 1 , wherein if the virtual domain name contains a portion in the first language, then decomposing the domain name into a first language portion and a second language portion; decomposing the first language portion into the coded portion and the entity-defined portion; and converting the entity-defined portion of the first language portion into a corresponding entity-defined portion in the second language.

4. The method of claim 1 , wherein: if the virtual domain name contains a portion in the first language, then decomposing the domain name into a first language portion and a second language portion; decomposing the first language portion into the coded portion and the entity-defined portion; converting the coded portion of the first language portion into a corresponding coded portion in the second language; and converting the entity-defined portion of the first language portion into a corresponding entity-defined portions in the second language.

5. The method of claim 4, further comprising: bypassing the portion already in the second language in the virtual domain name; compiling the converted portions which are in the second language into a corresponding portion of the real domain name.

6. The method of claim 5, further comprising: determining whether there is only one real domain name in the second language that corresponds to the virtual domain name entered in the computer system, wherein if there is only one corresponding real domain name in the second language, then using the real domain name as an output from the computer system.

7. The method of claim 6, wherein if there is more then one corresponding real domain name in the second language, then displaying all corresponding domain names in the second language to be selected by a user.

8. The method of claim 1, wherein the first language is a language other than English of a user and the second language is in English.

9. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of converting the coded portion in the first language into the corresponding coded portion in the second language includes: decomposing the coded portions in the first language into a top-level coded portion and a second-level coded portion; converting the top-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding top- level coded portion in the second language; and converting the second-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding second-level coded portion in the second language.

10. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of converting the top-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding top-level coded portion in the second language includes: matching the top-level coded portion in the first language with the corresponding top- level coded portion in the second language, wherein each top-level coded portion in the second language is pre-assigned an equivalent top-level coded portion in the first language.

11. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of converting the second-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding second-level coded portion in the second language includes: matching the second-level coded portion in the first language with the corresponding second-level coded portion in the second language, wherein each second-level coded portion in the second language is pre-assigned an equivalent second-level coded portion in the first language.

12. The method of claim 11, wherein the first language is a language other than English of a user and the second language is in English.

13. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of converting the top-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding top-level coded portion in the second language includes: decomposing the top-level coded portion in the first language into at least one individual letter that represents a phoneme; transliterating the phoneme in the first language into the phoneme of the second language; and compiling all of the transliterated phonemes representative of the top-level coded portion in the first language into the top-level coded portion of the second language.

14. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of converting the top-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding top-level coded portion in the second language includes: converting the top-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding top- level coded portion in the second language based on the principles for transliteration of the first language into the second language pursuant to a standard pronunciation of the first language; and compiling all of the transliterated letters representative of the top-level coded portion of the first language into the top-level coded portion of the second language.

15. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of converting the second-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding second-level coded portion in the second language includes: decomposing the second-level coded portion in the first language into phonemes; transliterating the phonemes in the first language into the phonemes of the second language; and compiling all of the transliterated phonemes representative of the second-level coded portion in the first language into the second-level coded portion of the second language.

16. The method of claim 9, wherein the step of converting the second-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding second-level coded portion in the second language includes: converting the second-level coded portion in the first language into the corresponding second-level coded portion in the second language based on the principles for transliteration of the first language into the second language pursuant to a standard pronunciation of individual second language letters in the first language; and compiling all of the transliterated letters representative of the second-level coded portion of the first language into the second-level coded portion of the second language.

17. The method of claim 4, wherein the step of converting the entity-defined portion in the first language into the corresponding entity-defined portions in the second language includes: converting the entity-defined portion in the first language into a corresponding entity- defined portion in the second language, wherein at least a part of the entity-defined portion in the first language contained in the virtual domain name is transliterated into the second language.

18. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of converting the entity-defined portion in the first language into the corresponding entity-defined portion in the second language includes: decomposing the entity-defined portion in the first language into at least one individual letter that represents a phoneme; transliterating the phoneme in the first language into the phonemes of the second language; and compiling all of the transliterated phonemes representative of the entity-defined portion in the first language into the entity-defined portion of the second language.

19. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of converting the entity-defined portion in the first language into the corresponding entity-defined portion in the second language includes: converting the entity-defined portion in the first language into the corresponding entity- defined portion in the second language based on the principles for transliteration of the first language into the second language pursuant to a standard pronunciation of the first language; and compiling all of the transliterated letters representative of the entity-defined portion in the first language into the entity-defined portion of the second language.

20. The method of claim 18, wherein the step of converting the entity-defined portion in the first language into the corresponding entity-defined portion in the second language, by using the phonemes of the first and second languages includes: decomposing the entity-defined portion in the first language into individual letters so that each individual letter represents an individual phoneme of the first language, which is an inverse of transcription of phonemes of the first language into letters in the first language; matching each individual phoneme of the first language with an equivalent second language phoneme that has substantially the same pronunciation; transcribing each second language phoneme into the corresponding letter in the second language based upon the standard pronunciation of the second language; and compiling all the letters transcribed into the second language.

21. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of converting the entity-defined portion in the first language into a corresponding entity-defined portion in the second language includes the step of determining whether there is a transliteration language pursuant to the principles of standard transliteration of second language words or vocabularies into the first language, in the entity-defined portion in the first language.

22. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of converting the entity-defined portion in the first language into a corresponding entity-defined portion in the second language includes the step of dividing the entity-defined portion in the first language into a transliteration portion pursuant to the principles of standard transliteration of second language words or vocabularies into the first language, and other portions.

23. The method of claim 17, wherein the step of converting the entity-defined portion in the first language into a corresponding entity-defined portion in the second language includes the step of entering a real portion in a corresponding second language pursuant to the principles of standard transliteration of second language words or vocabularies into the first language, in the first language by the user as soon as the real portion in the second language is transliterated into the first language.

24. The method of claim 23, wherein the step of converting the entity-defined portion in the first language into a corresponding entity-defined portion in the second language includes the step of matching the transliteration language portion into the first language with a corresponding second language word or vocabulary, and widely used words or vocabularies of the second language being respectively transliterated in advance pursuant to the principles of standard transliteration into the first language.

25. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer system is loaded in a regular telephone.

26. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer system is loaded in a wireless telephone.

27. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer system is loaded in a personal digital assistant (PDA).

28. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer system is loaded in a TV set top box. *

29. The method of claim 1, wherein the computer system is loaded in a household appliance.

30. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual domain name is a part of an electronic mail address.

31. The method of claim 1 , wherein the virtual domain name is a part of a directory name.

32. The method of claim 1, wherein the virtual domain name is a part of a file name.

33. The method of claim 1 , wherein the virtual domain name is a part of a keyword used in a search engine.

34. The method of claim 1 , wherein the conversion of the portion of the virtual domain name in the first language into a corresponding portion of the real domain name in the second language is processed in a host computer system before the real domain name request is sent to a DNS server.

.

35. The method of claim 1, wherein the conversion of the portion of the virtual domain name in the first language into the real domain name in the second language is processed in a computer network system before the real domain name request is sent to a DNS server.

36. A method for converting, using a computer system, a virtual domain name at least partially containing a portion in a first language into a corresponding real domain name in a second language, the domain name comprising at least a coded portion and an entity-defined portion, the method comprising the steps of: receiving the virtual domain name as an input to the computer system; and converting the portion of the virtual domain name in the first language into the real domain name in the second language by matching the first language portion with the corresponding second language portion having one of substantially identical meaning and substantially identical pronunciation.

37. The method of claim 36, wherein the step of converting the portion of the virtual domain name in the first language into the real domain name in the second language includes: decomposing the domain name into a first language portion and a second language portion; decomposing the first language portion into the coded portion and the entity-defined portion; and converting the coded portion of the first language portion into the corresponding coded portion in the second language.

38. The method of claim 36, wherein the step of converting the portion of the virtual domain name in the first language into the real domain name in the second language includes: decomposing the domain name into a first language portion and a second language portion; decomposing the first language portion into the coded portion and the entity-defined portion; and converting the entity-defined portion of the first language portion into the corresponding entity-defined portion in the second language.

39. A method for converting, using a computer system, a virtual domain name at least partially containing a portion in a first language into a corresponding real domain name in a second language, the domain name comprising at least a coded portion and an entity-defined portion, the method comprising the steps of: receiving the virtual domain name as an input to the computer system; decomposing the domain name into a first language portion and a second language portion; decomposing the first language portion into the coded portion and the entity-defined portion; translating the coded portion of the first language portion into the corresponding coded portion in the second language; and transliterating the entity-defined portions of the first language portion into the corresponding entity-defined portions in the second language.