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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?

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+1 for the (existing) http://☃.net/ :-) – Arjan Nov 19 '09 at 10:52
I bought xn--es-zka.info through GoDaddy. I avoid GoDaddy nowadays, because they've violated their own terms of service in hosting sites which promote hatred and violence and which even make death threats. (See Box Turtle Bulletin for details.) – TRiG Nov 11 '10 at 17:43
Maybe they've enabled Punycode. I'm also trying to move away from Godaddy. Currently my favorite is Gandi, we'll see. – J. Pablo Fernández Nov 12 '10 at 10:16

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3 Answers

up vote 2 down vote

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 <<<
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up vote 1 down vote

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

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What is more important, Gandi allows punycode. – J. Pablo Fernández Dec 5 '09 at 17:01
up vote 0 down vote

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.

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