"I welcome this endorsement of the ICANN model and our significant efforts to improve ICANN's operation," said Peter Dengate Thrush, Chairman of ICANN's Board of Directors. "As I said in my statement to the public meeting on the JPA in Washington DC, the overwhelming view from virtually all participants is that transition is the goal and the interest is in settling how we get there."

"I have asked the President's Strategy Committee to outline a plan for developing this transition framework. They will meet in April and make a first presentation, starting a process for further engagement with the community at the ICANN meeting in Paris in June this year," he said.

"This scheduled mid-term review has been a valuable process for ICANN. It's provided a report card on the progress we've made and provided valuable feedback from the Internet community that they want to see the process of transition proceed," Dengate Thrush added.

The NTIA's statement is available at http://www.ntia.doc.gov/ntiahome/domainname/ICANN_JPA_080402.html.

All of ICANN's submissions and accomplishments on the JPA can be found at the top of our home page at http://icann.org.

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About ICANN:

ICANN is responsible for the global coordination of the Internet's system of unique identifiers like domain names (like .org, .museum and country codes like .uk) and the addresses used in a variety of Internet protocols that help computers reach each other over the Internet. Careful management of these resources is vital to the Internet's operation, so ICANN's global stakeholders meet regularly to develop policies that ensure the Internet's ongoing security and stability. ICANN is an internationally organized, public benefit non-profit company. For more information please visit: www.icann.org .

Media Contacts:

Jason Keenan
Media Adviser, ICANN
Ph: +1 310 382 4004
E: jason.keenan@icann.org

International: Andrew Robertson
Edelman (London)
Ph: +44 7921 588 770
E: andrew.robertson@edelman.com