In this issue of Nominet News I'm pleased to be able to give you an update on the release process for the previously reserved short domain names. The Registered Rights Sunrise phase opens on 1 December and we are anticipating a great deal of interest from trade mark holders for these one character and two letter domain names.

On 4 November Nominet launched knowthenet.org.uk, an educational web site aimed at helping consumers and businesses get the most out of the internet in a safe and secure manner.

The application process for some of the most valuable .uk domain names - those with single characters, single letters and two letter combinations - will start on 1 December.

Phishing remains a major problem for consumers and businesses alike, and the battle against this insidious brand of cybercrime is still being fought on a daily basis. The practice of sending random emails purporting to come from a genuine company operating on the internet is unfortunately common.

On 30 September, Nominet became the new UK and Ireland office of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), the international community created by Sir Tim Berners-Lee to develop standards to ensure the long-term growth of the Web.

The new .uk policy process means that everyone with an interest in a .uk issue can contribute their knowledge, experience and expertise. Harnessing this will be instrumental in helping Nominet develop .uk policy that really works for the UK's internet users.

In this issue of Nominet News I'm delighted to be able to give you an update on the work of Nominet Trust, the types of projects they are funding and how some of the £2.5million donated to date is supporting innovative and effective Internet based projects.

The Great .uk Prize Draw is a promotion that we have has created for our registrars to offer their customers a chance to enter the prize draw and win a great prize.

The new .uk policy development process has now been launched. The new process has stakeholders at the heart and an open approach to developing policy for.uk, that focuses on specific issues.

Charities and public sector organisations were amongst the successful entrants who were recognised in this year's Nominet Internet Awards for their exemplary work in making the Internet a more secure, open, accessible or diverse experience.

The 16th July 2010, marked one of the most significant moments in the history of the internet. Yet for most people, it will have passed by entirely unnoticed.

Since launching in 2008, the Nominet Trust has been supporting innovative and effective internet based projects to make a positive difference. We have awarded over £2.5 million to 44 organisations, who are working to increase access to the internet, online safety and education.

In this issue of Nominet News, we discuss the outcomes of our Extraordinary General Meeting on 24 February, and the impacts that a successful result and the recent passing of the Digital Economy Bill are likely to have on Nominet and the domain name industry. On a personal note I would like to thank members for voting; the number taking part was double our usual turnout. I am delighted that so many of you chose to have your voice heard.

At our Extraordinary General Meeting in February, our members voted overwhelmingly in support of a set of changes to our constitution. The amended constitution encapsulates Nominet's public purpose, ensuring that the business takes all stakeholders' views into account when developing policy and making business decisions.

To help reduce registrant confusion we have launched a service for registrars who have a reseller channel that will allow information about domain name resellers to be included in the WHOIS and in our communication with registrants.

Last month I participated in the latest ICANN meeting in Nairobi, which went ahead despite security scares beforehand that affected attendance and meant that much of the American contingent stayed away. The meeting itself was notable for a number of things.

Protection of UK Internet users sits at the heart of Nominet's activities. Our constitution, processes and commitment to end users ensure that we conduct our business for the public benefit. We are committed to ensuring that .uk remains a safe and trusted space and we take an active role in protecting consumers.

We are planning to release two letter, one character and other reserved .uk domains later this year, and we are currently running a consultation on our proposed release mechanism and the domains to be made available for registration.

Welcome to the first edition of our new-style Nominet News newsletter which we hope will be an interesting and useful source of information for all Nominet members, registrars and other stakeholders.

We are holding an Extraordinary General Meeting (EGM) at the Hilton London Olympia on 24 February 2010 to enable members to vote on a number of measures that we believe will strengthen .uk and the domain name industry.

Nominet welcomes the end of the Joint Project Agreement between the US Department of Commerce and ICANN. The private-sector led, bottom up model, gives a strong mandate to ICANN to operate as an organisation for public purpose and ensures that ICANN's accountability to the wider community remains prominent and constant.

We want to ensure that our systems continuously improve to meet the needs of our customers and stakeholders. To help us achieve this goal we run a monthly release cycle so that we are regularly improving what we offer.

A key feature of developments over the past year has been in the area of safety and security. We have looked at what we can do to improve the experience of people and businesses using .uk.

The latest UK IGF meeting was recently held at the BIS conference centre on 3 February 2010 where MPs and other key stakeholders shared the messages they took from the recent IGF meeting in Sharm el Sheikh, Egypt, and the Nominet Internet Awards 2010 were launched.