A complete overhaul of the way in which people navigate the internet has been given the go-ahead in Paris.
The net's regulator, Icann, voted unanimously to relax the strict rules on so-called "top-level" domain names, such as .com or .uk. The decision means that companies could turn brands into web addresses, while individuals could use their names.
A second proposal, to introduce domain names written in Asian, Arabic or other scripts, was also approved.
"We are opening up a new world and I think this cannot be underestimated," said Roberto Gaetano, a member of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann). The organisation said it had already been contacted about setting up domains in the Cyrillic script - used in many Eastern European countries.
"This is a huge step forward in the development of the internet - it will unblock something that has prevented a lot of people getting online," said Emily Taylor, director of legal and policy at Nominet, the national registry for .uk domain names.
"At the moment, there are one-and-a-half billion people online and four-and-a-half billion people for whom the Roman script just means nothing."
Dr Paul Twomey, chief executive of Icann, described passing the resolution as a "historic moment".
