Question

I've just tried to register a domain name with a non-ascii character on it, much like http://☃.net/, at GoDaddy and it claimed it wasn't a valid domain name (I did perform the Punycode encoding before trying, like http://xn--n3h.net/). Can anyone confirm that GoDaddy doesn't accept such internationalized domain names (IDN)? Can anybody point to a registrar that does?

Answer 1

Your example http://☃.net/ seems to have been registered via Dotster; perhaps you should try them.

$ whois xn--n3h.net

Whois Server Version 2.0
[...]

   Domain Name: XN--N3H.NET
   Registrar: DOTSTER, INC.
   Whois Server: whois.dotster.com
   Referral URL: http://www.dotster.com
   Name Server: [...]
   Status: clientDeleteProhibited
   Status: clientTransferProhibited
   Status: clientUpdateProhibited
   Updated Date: 07-dec-2008
   Creation Date: 06-dec-2004
   Expiration Date: 06-dec-2009

>>> Last update of whois database: Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:18:50 UTC <<<

Answer 2

Gandi allows pre-reservations of accented .eu domain names.

Answer 3

This list of IDN registrars accredited by Verisign looks pretty good, although it's from January 2008. You can also search for IDN registrars on the Verisign website but it's a JavaScript horror that'll lock up your browser for 10+ seconds.