The U.S. government has [signed off on a revised contract for the ownership of the dot-com registry][1]. [VeriSign Inc.][3] will control the key directories that keep track of .com domain names until 2012.

The fundamental change in the contract is that it now allows the U.S. government sole control over .com price increases and sole control over whether or not VeriSign gets to renew the contract in 2012.

The international community has been pushing to turn this authority over to ICANN who oversees the internet, but the U.S. rejected that idea. As part of the contract VeriSign must recognize the authority of ICANN, but answers only to the U.S government, effectively neutering ICANN. 

Currently the U.S. also oversees ICANN but that is schedule to end in 2009. What has irked many countries about the new contract is that it extends U.S authority three years past the point that internet is scheduled to be turned over to an international body. The new contract furthermore adds the option for the U.S. to extend that authority even longer should it choose to renew VeriSign's contract in 2012.

Although somewhat better than the original VeriSign contract revealed earlier this year, today's official announcement is unlikely to make many outside the U.S. very happy. As the UK newspaper [The Register rather sardonically puts it][2], "a decision with global implications was again decided by a few Congressmen in Washington."

[1]: http://today.reuters.com/news/articleinvesting.aspx?type=governmentFilingsNews&storyID=2006-11-30T194653Z_01_N30191458_RTRIDST_0_VERISIGN-AGREEMENT-UPDATE-1.XML "VeriSign Contract Officially Accepted"
[2]: http://www.theregister.co.uk/2006/12/01/usg_approves_dotcom_contract/ "The Register on VeriSign Contract"
[3]: http://www.verisign.com/ "verisign"