VeriSign Inc. and other groups including Singapore's Internationalize Domain Name System, are in the last stages of testing a system that will allow the creation of Internet addresses using Asian language characters. VeriSign spokesman Brian O'Shanghnessy points out that 90 percent of the world uses languages other than those supported by the system of Internet addresses.

The test's conclusion comes as a new study indicates that almost 55 percent of all Internet traffic now originates outside the United States.

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