Browser Language

By Browser Language I do not mean the Browser User Interface Language. I am referring to the Browser Preferred Language for displaying Pages. I will use the acronym BL to mean Browser preferred Language for displaying pages.

An internationalised website will have pages in multiple languages. These pages can be displayed according to BL eg If BL is Korean then the website will send it's Korean pages to the browser.

With most browsers, the BL can be set in the preferences and can be set independent of the language settings of the OS. Some browsers do inherit their BL from the OS language setting.

This ability to change the BL has so much potential that few are aware of. Google are switched on to this potential. Google maps, if embedded correctly, will automatically adapt to BL. You can try it out for yourself. Visit lboro.ac.uk/about/findus.html and you will see a Google map of Loughborough. Now change the BL in your browser preferences and refresh. You will see menus displayed in the BL you chose. If you had chosen Japanese as your BL you would also see some place names transliterated into Japanese.

This ability for the user to change BL is a good thing, a very good thing. But... This function is buried down in the preferences. It is my experience that few people are aware that the BL can be changed and even less are aware of the possibilities this opens up.

My recommendation to all the browser manufacturers is that the BL preferences should be made manifest by bringing them up front. Put a BL graphic in a prominent position on the browser window so that it is always visible. This BL graphic will serve to inform the user of the current BL and allow the user to change the BL (eg a popup BL selection menu).

Such a BL graphic will:

• Raise user awareness of BL and the ability to change BL
• Encourage users to explore sites that adapt according to BL
• Encourage web developers to incorporate content, widgets and features that are BL adaptive

Here is an illustrative story. About a year ago, a Chinese person told me he had a problem when viewing some Google maps. His problem was that the map info was displayed in Chinese but he wanted to see the info displayed in English. This problem occurred when he viewed these maps from his own computer and he could not work out how to view the info in English.

I explained to him that what he was experiencing was not a problem but rather a symptom of a very powerful feature. The feature being Google maps auto adapting to BL. His Computer had a Chinese OS and the browser he used had it's BL set to Chinese. I told him how to change his browser's BL and then, of course, he could view the Google map info in any of the many supported languages.

A manifest BL graphic would have made it obvious what was happening and would have enabled him to explore and appreciate Google maps BL adaption and BL adaptive websites in general.

Microblog Space (character) Saving

Take the following example two lines of text:

• Fruit: apples, pears! Veg: cabbage, onions. Cars? Ford; Mini
• Fruit：apples，pears！Veg：cabbage，onions．Cars？Ford；Mini

Line 1 has 60 characters and line 2 has 52 characters. I reduced the number of characters by using full-width punctuation characters. These full-width forms start at Unicode codepoint U+FF01. Using full-width forms I can dispense with the space character. So, for example, instead of colon + space I use full-width colon only. For microblog posts small space savings like this can be very useful.

I could, and sometimes do, use OSX Character Viewer to obtain these full-width punctuation characters. When I am microblogging in English I toggle to the Simplified Pinyin Input Method to write the full-width punctuation. This may sound complicated and time consuming but with a little practice it is easy and quick and does not disrupt the flow of writing. There is one exception character. When I type full stop whilst in the OSX Simplified Pinyin Input Method the ideographic full stop is produced rather than the full-width full stop. That is what I would expect and still saves me a space character. So, when I am microblogging I would write the example text, above, as:

• Fruit：apples，pears！Veg：cabbage，onions。Cars？Ford；Mini

Sometimes I use my OSX Japanese Input Method for microblog punctuation. The one difference is that when typing comma the ideographic comma is produced. i.e.

• Fruit：apples、pears！Veg：cabbage、onions。Cars？Ford；Mini

English is my primary language and, as such, my examples are in English. The same space saving technique can be used for any language/script that uses the standard ASCII punctuation e.g. Korean & Russian

My setup is OSX Lion with the standard Input Methods. I have setup a keyboard shortcut (Control + Space) to quickly toggle between a pair of languages. When microblogging my toggle pairs are English & Chinese or English & Japanese. Your setup may well be different to mine and you may well get different results to me. Whatever your setup, you will be able to use the Chinese or Japanese space saving punctuation characters.

ZARA Website

Interesting! And the sort of thing I would do. ZARA's website adapts the Social Media links displayed according to the Region. ZARA caters for multiple regions and for the majority displays a link to their Facebook facebook.com/Zara

There are some regions for which it displays a link to that region's Social Media:

China 中国: Zara's China landing page is zara.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/home/cn/zh/zara-I2011 and the displayed Social Media link is Sina Wēibó 新浪微博 weibo.com/zarachina

Russia Россия: Zara's Russia landing page is zara.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/home/ru/ru/zara-I2011 and the displayed Social Media link is Vkontakte ВКонтакте vk.com/zara

With their Japan landing page it appears that the intention is to link to a Zara twitter as indicated by the displayed text on zara.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/home/jp/ja/zara-jp-W2011 The link does not though resolve to a Zara Twitter or indeed any Twitter.

AI Website Adaptations

Work in Progress

AI in this case means Adaptive Internationalised.

1. BL = Browser preferred display Language as set in browser preferences or inherited from the OS.
2. BR = Browser Region
3. BD = Browser Date
4. BT = Browser Time

Adverts: In it's simplest and now quite commonplace form, adverts on websites will adapt according to BR. When browsing, I frequently see adverts localized to the midlands of England which is where I most usually browse. One can also incorporate BL by having different language versions of the advert. When adapting to both BR and BL then one can also culturally style the advert according to BR. Many adverts display for a fixed period of time. These adverts could be seasonal or for the duration of a campaign. Thus the adverts can also be adapted according to BD and maybe in the case of short term special offers, according to BT.

Background: Many websites have a fixed width area for webpage content. The area outside the content is the background I am referring to. This background can be used creatively from an AI perspective. The background could adapt to BR with, for example, iconic images of a region. The background for region China could, for instance, be a collage of images such as the Forbidden City, qípáo and Chinese Lanterns. The background could also adapt to BR + BD by incorporating festivals. A more contemporary approach would be to incorporate images of the latest fashions and memes. One such China Meme is: Dù Fǔ is busy 杜甫很忙. There is much creative scope to make the background interesting, eye catching and ever changing using  AI techniques.

Censorship: By this I mean self censorship according to BR. There are regions in which some content could, for example, be politically sensitive. An AI website can be self censoring and restrict or modify content for some regions.

Date Format: Regions can have different formats for dates and so date formatting would be according to BR. The following illustrative examples use the date 10th November 2011, as per the Gregorian Calendar:

1. Japan ➠ 2011年11月10日
2. Russia ➠ 10.11.2011
3. UK ➠ 10/11/2011
4. USA ➠ 11/10/11

Festivals: There are many festivals celebrated in different parts of the world. There are a small number of festivals, such as Christmas, which are celebrated in most parts of the world. Most festivals are regional. Festivals would be displayed according to BR and BD. The festival information displayed could be translated according to BL. If BL is not the native language of or predominant language in BR then one could reasonably assume that the person browsing may not be familiar with the festival, hence, one could provide additional information. This additional information could, for example, be an explanation of the history, customs and traditions of the festival

1. Chinese Festivals/Holidays: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chinese_festivals
2. Japanese Festivals/Holidays: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_festivals
3. Korean Festivals/Holidays: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Festivals_of_Korea & english.visitkorea.or.kr/festival/eng/korea_festival.html

Flags: Display of flags should be according to BR. I agree with flagsarenotlanguages.com/blog/ that flags should not be used to represent languages and so should not be according to BL. If you still want to use flags to represent language then one should consider that many countries can share a common official language. English, for example, is the official language of many countries. Invariably, I see the UK or American flag to represent English. The flag used to represent English could be according to BR eg when BR is Australia then use the Australian flag to represent English.

Forms: There are several considerations when implementing AI web forms. Text labels on forms could be written according to BL. When a form requires user input of a postal address then said address input format should be according to BR. In the UK postal addresses are ordered minor to major and in China, major to minor when written in Chinese en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Address.... Personal names are also a consideration for form design. In the UK, full names start with a Given name ad in China full names start with the Family name www.w3.org/International/questions/qa-personal-names. If a form requests a web address then it should be able to correctly and natively handle IDNs schappo.blogspot.com/2011/08/chinese-companies-5.html

Maps: Embedded Google maps, if set up correctly, will auto adapt according to BL. If your embedded code contains hl=xx where xx is a language tag then simply remove and the map will then auto adapt to BL. Google maps will display menus and information according to BL. When BL is Japanese, Korean or Russian it will display the transliterated/translated place/street names. Most Impressive. By way of example, here are Google maps of Loughborough, ラフバラ, 러프버러 and Лафборо. When BL is Chinese (language tag zh-CN) place names are displayed in Chinese but not street names: 拉夫堡. The map service used could, where appropriate, be regional and hence according to BR. A Japanese map service is goo  eg  link.maps.goo.ne.jp/map.php?MAP=E139.46.23.658N35.40.31.302&ZM=2 Daum is a Korean map service eg local.daum.net/map/index.jsp?map_type=TYPE_MAP.... Russia's Yandex has a map service eg maps.yandex.ru/?ll=-... In a previous  article I described three Chinese map services schappo.blogspot.com/2011/03/baidu-3d-maps.html

News: News would be according to BR. There is the consideration of the region scope of news displayed. One could display National or City/Town news. Alternatively one could simultaneously have an International news section, a National news section and a  (nearest) City/Town news section. Furthermore one could adapt the news items to BL by having these news items translated according to BL. News items are inherently subject to BD and BT.

Star Ratings: Star ratings are a common method for indicating quality. Usually there are between 0 and 5 stars awarded, with 5 stars being the best. One could replace the star symbol with a BR relevant symbol. In the case of England, the symbol used in place of the star could, for instance, be an image of Big Ben.

Twitter: Using the twitter Search Widget one can embed a live twitter feed in which the tweets displayed will be determined by search keyword(s) twitter.com/about/resources/widgets/widget_search. These keywords can be dynamically changed to produce a live AI twitter feed. Lets take the single search keyword chocolate. When BL is English set the keyword to chocolate. When BL is Japanese set the keyword to チョコレート.  In this case the twitter feed is being adapted to BL, hence different tweets will be displayed. Other combinations could, for example, include:

1. When BL = Japanese & BR = Loughborough, then set keyword to ラフバラ
2. When BL = English & BR = Loughborough & BD = 9th November ⇰ 12th November 2011, then set keywords to street fair
3. When BL = Japanese & BD = 1st December ⇰ 25th December, then set keyword to クリスマス

URL: A URL path can be rewritten according to BL. Given a URL of the form:

• http://domain-name/learn/webfonts/unicode6.html

This could be rewritten into Japanese as:

• http://domain-name/習う/ウェブフォント/ユニコード6.html

With Unix it is relatively straight forward to set up a set of directory/file names in different languages that all resolve to a master directory/file using the ln command. The syntax for one of the forms of this command is:

• ln [options] target link-name

So, given the directory webfonts, one can create a japanese named symbolic link to it with the ln command:

• ln -s webfonts ウェブフォント

Here is a working URL with the path rewritten in Korean. As I am not administrator for the server I am restricted to what I can rewrite. I have rewritten as much of the path as I can as a standard user.

• co-project.lboro.ac.uk/users/coas/배우다/웹글꼴/유니코드6.html

Given that one registers a set of IDNs in different languages/scripts for the website then one can also rewrite the domain name part of the URL according to BL.

Loughborough in Munich

The following photo was taken in Munich, Germany. The person featured in the photos is Adam-Lucas Pettit. He is wearing one of the internationalized Loughborough Market T-shirts. The text printed on the T-shirt is 拉夫堡市场 which is Chinese for Loughborough Market.

A very big thank you to Adam-Lucas Pettit for having this photo taken whilst in Munich and for giving me permission to put it on my blog.

My nickname for Adam-Lucas Pettit is Adam Action as he used to be Chair of the Action Group at  Loughborough 拉夫堡 Students Union ☺

Loughborough in Nanjing

The following photos were taken in Nánjīng 南京, China. The person featured in the photos is 朱莹 (Zhū Yíng). She is wearing one of the internationalized Loughborough Market T-shirts. The text printed on the T-shirt is 拉夫堡市场 which is Chinese for Loughborough Market.

A very big thank you to 朱莹 for having these photos taken whilst in Nánjīng and for giving me permission to put them on my blog.

Companies on Sina

The purpose of this article is to list some of the Western Companies/Brands that are using China's Sina Wēibó 新浪微博. Those marked with a ☆ are using the Enterprise version 企业版 which allows open access to all postings. The text in the square brackets is the 新浪微博 name.

Note: There are problems connecting if you click on the links below. I believe this is to do with the http referer header. Until Sina resolve this problem you can visit this article's mirror at blog.sina.com.cn/s/blog_6fab54120100wohn.html where the links work fine. Alternatively, copy a URL from the list below and paste into the address bar of your browser.

1. 3M [@3M中国] weibo.com/3minnovation ☆
2. 7●Up [@7喜官方微博] weibo.com/2137888361 ☆
3. ABB [@ABB中国] weibo.com/abbchina ☆
4. Absolut Vodka [@绝对伏特加中国] weibo.com/absolutvodkachina ☆
5. Acqua di Parma [@Acqua_di_Parma] weibo.com/1874337865 ☆
6. Adidas Originals [@adidasOriginals] weibo.com/adidasoriginals ☆
7. agnès b. [@agnesb雅昵斯比] weibo.com/agnesbfrance ☆
8. Air France [@法国航空AirFrance] weibo.com/airfrancechina ☆
9. Air Wick [@安悦嘉官方微博] weibo.com/airwick ☆
10. Airbus [@空中客车] weibo.com/airbusweibo ☆
11. Amazon [@亚马逊中国] weibo.com/amazonchina ☆
12. American Airlines [@AmericanAirlines] weibo.com/americanairlines ☆
13. American Apparel [@AmericanApparel] weibo.com/americanapparel ☆
14. Anna Sui Cosmetics [@ANNASUI安娜苏] weibo.com/annasuicosmetics ☆
15. Aquascutum [@Aquascutum雅格狮丹] weibo.com/2253981542 ☆
16. Ariel [@碧浪] weibo.com/arielchina ☆
17. Audi [@奥迪车友会] weibo.com/chinaaudi
18. B&Q [@百安居] weibo.com/bnqch ☆
    • B&Q Běijīng [@百安居北京金四季店] weibo.com/2286782284 ☆
    • B&Q Běijīng [@百安居北京双井店] weibo.com/2286299685 ☆
    • B&Q Běijīng [@百安居北京来广营店] weibo.com/2285772117 ☆
    • B&Q Běijīng [@百安居北京立水桥店] weibo.com/2285778653 ☆
    • B&Q Hángzhōu [@百安居杭州航海店] weibo.com/2285813117 ☆
    • B&Q Hángzhōu [@百安居杭州上塘店] weibo.com/2285817483 ☆
    • B&Q Nánjīng [@百安居南京雨花店] weibo.com/2285798417 ☆
    • B&Q Nánjīng [@百安居南京大桥店] weibo.com/2286335405 ☆
    • B&Q Qīngdǎo [@百安居青岛山东路店] weibo.com/2286353521 ☆
    • B&Q Qīngdǎo [@百安居青岛福州路店] weibo.com/2285826517 ☆
    • B&Q Shànghǎi [@百安居上海龙阳店] weibo.com/2286362571 ☆
    • B&Q Sūzhōu [@百安居苏州园区门店] weibo.com/2286319731 ☆
    • B&Q Wúxī [@百安居无锡新区店] weibo.com/2286323275 ☆
    • B&Q Wúxī [@百安居无锡橙风店] weibo.com/2286326181 ☆
19. Bacardi [@Bacardi百加得] weibo.com/bacardichina ☆
20. Baileys [@百利Baileys] weibo.com/baileyschina ☆
21. Ballantine's [@百龄坛真时刻] weibo.com/bailingtanzhenshike ☆
22. Bally [@BALLY中国] weibo.com/bally1851 ☆
23. Benefit San Francisco [@benefit贝玲妃的微博] weibo.com/benefit ☆
24. Benetton [@贝纳通中国] weibo.com/benettonchina ☆
25. Bentley [@宾利世界] weibo.com/worldofbentley ☆
26. Bershka [@Bershka中国] weibo.com/bershkaofficial ☆
27. Beyerdynamic [@拜亚动力] weibo.com/beyer ☆
28. Biotherm [@碧欧泉Biotherm] weibo.com/biotherm ☆
29. Blackberry [@黑莓] weibo.com/blackberry
30. BMC Software [@BMC软件] weibo.com/bmcchina ☆
31. BMW [@宝马中国] weibo.com/bmwchina ☆
32. Boeing [@波音] weibo.com/boeingchina ☆
33. Bottega Veneta [@BottegaVeneta-宝缇嘉] weibo.com/bvchina ☆
34. Bourjois [@BOURJOIS妙巴黎微博] weibo.com/bourjoisparis ☆
35. Braun [@Braun男士] weibo.com/braun ☆
36. Budweiser Beer [@百威啤酒] weibo.com/budweiser ☆
37. Buick [@别克] weibo.com/sgmbuick ☆
38. Burberry [@Burberry] weibo.com/burberry ☆
39. Burger King [@汉堡王中国] weibo.com/burgerkingchina ☆
40. Burger King, Běijīng [@汉堡王--北京] weibo.com/burgerkingbeijing ☆
41. Burger King, Shēnzhèn [@汉堡王深圳] weibo.com/bksz ☆
42. Burson-Marsteller [@博雅公关中国] weibo.com/bmchina ☆
43. C&A [@CA西雅衣家] weibo.com/candachina ☆
44. Cadillac [@凯迪拉克] weibo.com/sgmcadillac ☆
45. Calvin Klein [@CalvinKlein] weibo.com/calvinklein ☆
46. Camay [@卡玫尔Camay] weibo.com/camaychina ☆
47. Campbell's [@Campbells金宝汤] weibo.com/2294722300 ☆
48. Carlsberg [@嘉士伯] weibo.com/carlsberg ☆
49. Carrefour [@家乐福中国] weibo.com/crfchina ☆
50. Cartier [@卡地亚] weibo.com/cartierchina ☆
51. Castrol Edge [@嘉实多极护] weibo.com/castroledge
52. Castrol Magnatec [@嘉实多磁护] weibo.com/castrolmagnatec ☆
53. Caudalíe [@欧缇丽Caudalie] weibo.com/caudalieparis ☆
54. Chanel [@香奈儿CHANEL官方微博] weibo.com/chanel ☆
55. Chaumet Paris [@尚美巴黎CHAUMET] weibo.com/chaumetparis ☆
56. Chevrolet [@雪佛兰] weibo.com/sgmchevrolet ☆
57. Chic Outlet Shopping [@欧洲九大精品购物村] weibo.com/chicoutletshopping ☆
58. Cisco [@思科无边界网络] weibo.com/ciscobn ☆
59. Clairol [@伊卡璐草本精华] weibo.com/clairolhes ☆
60. Clarins [@法国娇韵诗] http://weibo.com/clarins ☆
61. Clear [@Clear清扬] weibo.com/clear2011 ☆
62. Clinique [@Clinique倩碧] weibo.com/cliniqueu ☆
63. Club Med [@ClubMed] weibo.com/clubmed ☆
64. Coach [@Coach蔻驰] weibo.com/coachchina ☆
65. Coca-Cola [@可口可乐] weibo.com/cokechina ☆
66. Cointreau [@君度橙酒] weibo.com/cointreauchina ☆
67. Comfort [@金纺] weibo.com/comfortunilever ☆
68. Converse [@CONVERSE中国] weibo.com/chinaconverse ☆
69. Coors Light [@冻感银子弹] weibo.com/coorslightchina ☆
70. Cornetto [@可爱多] weibo.com/cornettocone ☆
71. Cosmopolitan [@时尚COSMOPOLITAN] weibo.com/cosmopolitan ☆
72. Costa [@COSTACOFFEE中国] weibo.com/costaeast ☆
73. Crest [@佳洁士Crest] weibo.com/icrest ☆
74. Crocs [@CROCS_卡骆驰] weibo.com/crocs001 ☆
75. Dairy Queen [@DQ冰雪皇后] weibo.com/dairyqueensd ☆
76. De Beers Jewellery [@DeBeers_戴比尔斯珠宝] weibo.com/debeersjewellery ☆
77. Dettol [@滴露官方微博] weibo.com/dettolchina ☆
78. Dewar's [@帝王威士忌值得就去做] weibo.com/dewarsworthdoing ☆
79. Diageo [@帝亚吉欧中国] weibo.com/diageo ☆
80. Dickies [@DICKIES1922] weibo.com/dickies ☆
81. Dior [@Dior迪奥] weibo.com/dior ☆
82. Disney Pictures [@迪士尼电影] weibo.com/disneymovie ☆
83. DJ Mag [@DJMag] weibo.com/djmag
84. Dolby [@杜比Dolby] weibo.com/dolbychina ☆
85. Dolce & Gabbana [@DolceGabbana] weibo.com/dolcegabbanaofficial ☆
86. Dove [@多芬-让美更美丽] weibo.com/dovebeauty ☆
87. Dove Chocolate [@德芙悦时刻] weibo.com/chocolatedove ☆
88. Dunhill London [@阿尔弗雷德登喜路] weibo.com/dunhilllondon ☆
89. Dunkin' Donuts [@唐恩都乐官方微博] weibo.com/dunkindonuts ☆
90. Durex [@杜蕾斯官方微博] weibo.com/durexinchina ☆
91. DVF [@DVF中国官方微博] weibo.com/dvfny ☆
92. Eau Thermale Avène [@雅漾] weibo.com/eauthermaleavene ☆
93. EF [@EF英孚教育] weibo.com/educationfirst ☆
94. Electrolux [@伊莱克斯百年电器专家] weibo.com/electroluxchina ☆
95. ELLE [@ELLE] weibo.com/ellechina
96. Ericsson [@爱立信] weibo.com/ericssonweibo ☆
97. Ermenegildo Zegna [@Zegna杰尼亚官方微博] weibo.com/zegnaofficial ☆
98. Esquire [@时尚先生Esquire] weibo.com/esquire
99. Estée Lauder [@雅诗兰黛] weibo.com/esteelauder ☆
100. Evian [@evian依云中国] weibo.com/evianchina ☆
101. Fanta [@芬达Fanta] weibo.com/fantaplaycrew ☆
102. FedEx [@联邦快递中国] weibo.com/fedexcn ☆
103. Ferrari [@法拉利中国] weibo.com/ferrari ☆
104. Ferrero Rocher [@费列罗Rocher] weibo.com/ferrerotiamo ☆
105. Fiat [@菲亚特中国] weibo.com/fiatgroupchina ☆
106. Folli Follie [@Folli_Follie] weibo.com/follifolliechina ☆
107. Ford [@福特中国] weibo.com/fordchina ☆
108. Forever 21 [@Forever21中国] weibo.com/forever21china ☆
109. Gap [@Gap1969] weibo.com/gap1969 ☆
110. Garnier [@卡尼尔Garnier] weibo.com/garnier ☆
111. Gatorade [@佳得乐Gatorade] weibo.com/southgatorade ☆
112. General Electric 通用电气 [@GE中国] weibo.com/geinchina ☆
113. General Motors [@通用汽车中国] weibo.com/gmchina ☆
114. Georg Jensen [@GeorgJensen乔治杰生] weibo.com/georgjensen ☆
115. Gillette [@吉列Gillette] weibo.com/gillette ☆
116. Giorgio Armani [@阿玛尼] weibo.com/giorgioarmanibeauty
117. Givenchy [@Givenchy紀梵希] weibo.com/officialgivenchy ☆
118. Glacéau [@酷乐仕带你去纽约] weibo.com/glaceau ☆
119. GODIVA Chocolatier [@GODIVA歌帝梵] weibo.com/lovegodiva ☆
120. Goodyear [@固特异goodyear] weibo.com/goodyear2010
121. GQ [@智族GQ] weibo.com/gqcomcn
122. Grazia [@红秀GRAZIA] weibo.com/graziachina
123. Gucci [@GUCCI] weibo.com/gucci ☆
124. Guerlain [@Guerlain法国娇兰] weibo.com/guerlainchina ☆
125. Guess [@GUESS中国] weibo.com/chinaguess ☆
126. Guinness [@健力士黑啤] weibo.com/guinnessbeer ☆
127. Guinness World Records [@吉尼斯世界纪录] weibo.com/gwrchina
128. H&M [@HM中国] weibo.com/hm ☆
129. Häagen-Dazs [@哈根达斯Haagen-Dazs] weibo.com/haagendazschina ☆
130. Harley-Davidson [@哈雷戴维森_中国] weibo.com/harleydavidsonchina ☆
131. Harman [@Harman-China] weibo.com/harmanchina ☆
132. Harper's Bazaar [@时尚芭莎] weibo.com/bazaarchina ☆
133. Harrods [@英国伦敦Harrods] weibo.com/harrodslondon
134. Hay Group [@HayGroup合益集团] weibo.com/haygroupchina ☆
135. Hazeline [@夏士莲洗发露] weibo.com/hazeline2011 ☆
136. Heineken [@喜力啤酒官方] weibo.com/heinekenbeer ☆
137. Heinz [@亨氏Heinz] weibo.com/heinzchina ☆
138. Helena Rubinstein [@HR赫莲娜] weibo.com/helenarubinstein1902 ☆
139. Hogan [@Hogan中国] weibo.com/hoganinchina ☆
140. Holiday Inn [@假日酒店HolidayInn] weibo.com/holidayinnihg ☆
141. Holiday Inn Qīngdǎo City Centre [@青岛中心假日酒店] weibo.com/holidayinnqdcc ☆
142. Holiday Inn Shēnzhèn [@深圳东华假日酒店] weibo.com/holidayinnshenzhen ☆
143. Holiday Inn Zhūhǎi [@珠海粤财假日酒店] weibo.com/holidayinnzhuhai ☆
144. HP [@中国惠普] weibo.com/hpchina ☆
145. Huggies [@好奇官方微博] weibo.com/huggiesclub ☆
146. Hugo Boss [@雨果博斯HUGOBOSS] weibo.com/hugobossofficial ☆
147. IKEA [@宜家家居IKEA] weibo.com/ikea
148. Intel [@英特尔中国天天事] weibo.com/intel ☆
149. IZOD [@IZODCHINA] weibo.com/1938141652 ☆
150. Jack & Jones [@杰克琼斯中国官方微博] weibo.com/jackjoneschina ☆
151. Jack Wills [@JackWills] weibo.com/jackwills ☆
152. Jaguar [@捷豹中国Jaguar] weibo.com/jaguarcn ☆
153. Jeep [@Jeep中国站] weibo.com/jeephome ☆
154. Jeff Banks, London [@JEFFBANKS_official] weibo.com/jeffbanks ☆
155. John Deere [@约翰迪尔JohnDeere] weibo.com/johndeere ☆
156. John Smedley [@JOHNSMEDLEY] weibo.com/johnsmedley ☆
157. Johnnie Walker [@尊尼获加威士忌俱乐部] weibo.com/johnniewalkerchina ☆
158. Johnnie Walker Blue Label [@尊尼获加蓝牌苏格兰威士忌] weibo.com/jwbluelabel ☆
159. Kappa [@Kappa] weibo.com/kappa ☆
160. Kérastase [@巴黎卡诗KERASTASE] weibo.com/kerastase ☆
161. KFC [@肯德基] weibo.com/kfcchina
162. Kiehl's [@Kiehls家的骨头先生] weibo.com/kiehlschina ☆
163. Kipling [@KIPLING_凯普林] weibo.com/kiplingchina ☆
164. Kjeldsens Cookies [@丹麦蓝罐曲奇官方微博] weibo.com/kjeldsenscookie ☆
165. KLM [@荷兰皇家航空公司KLM] weibo.com/klmchina ☆
166. Kodak [@柯达中国] weibo.com/kodakcn ☆
167. Kodak Motion Picture Film [@柯达电影胶片] weibo.com/eikodak ☆
168. Kohler [@最科勒醉生活] weibo.com/kohlernumi ☆
169. KPMG [@毕马威中国-KPMG] weibo.com/kpmgchina ☆
170. Krispy Kreme [@卡卡圈坊中国] weibo.com/krispykremeprc ☆
171. Kühne [@德国冠利美食] weibo.com/kuehnchina ☆
172. La Mer [@LAMER海蓝之谜] weibo.com/lamerchina
173. la prairie [@LaPrairie莱珀妮] weibo.com/laprairie ☆
174. La Roche-Posay [@理肤泉larocheposay] weibo.com/larocheposay2011 ☆
175. Lacoste [@Lacoste] weibo.com/lacosteclub ☆
176. Lamborghini [@兰博基尼] weibo.com/lamborghinichina ☆
177. Lancel [@Lancel] weibo.com/lamaisonlancel ☆
178. Lancôme [@兰蔻官方微博] weibo.com/lancome ☆
179. Lee [@Lee牛仔部落] weibo.com/leejeans
180. Lego [@乐高中国] weibo.com/legochina ☆
181. Lékué [@西班牙Lekue] weibo.com/lekue ☆
182. LeSportsac [@LeSportsac] weibo.com/lesportsacchina ☆
183. Lipton [@立顿茶] weibo.com/ilipton ☆
184. Liverpool Football Club [@利物浦足球俱乐部] weibo.com/liverpoolfc
185. LN-CC [@LN-CC_LONDON] weibo.com/thelncc ☆
186. L'Oréal [@欧莱雅中国] weibo.com/loreal
187. Longchamp [@瓏驤Longchamp] weibo.com/longchamp ☆
188. Longines [@浪琴表] weibo.com/longineschina ☆
189. Louis Vuitton [@路易威登] weibo.com/louisvuitton ☆
190. Lufthansa [@汉莎航空] weibo.com/lufthansa ☆
191. LUSH [@露诗Lush] weibo.com/lushforever ☆
192. Lux [@LUX力士闪耀秀发] weibo.com/luxstyle
193. Lynx [@凌仕效应] weibo.com/thelynxeffect ☆
194. M&M's - Red [@红豆-Red] weibo.com/chocolatemms ☆
195. M&M's - Yellow [@黄豆-Yellow] weibo.com/huangdou521 ☆
196. Madame Tussauds [@上海杜莎夫人蜡像馆] weibo.com/mtsh ☆
197. Magnum [@梦龙Magnum] weibo.com/mymagnum ☆
198. Marie Claire [@嘉人] weibo.com/chinamarieclaire
199. Marks & Spencer [@马莎中国] weibo.com/marksandspencer ☆
200. Martini [@Martini马天尼] weibo.com/martinichina ☆
201. Mary Kay [@玫琳凯美丽到家] weibo.com/marykaychina ☆
202. Maserati [@玛莎拉蒂_Maserati] weibo.com/maseratiworld ☆
203. Massimo Dutti [@MassimoDutti中国] weibo.com/massimodutti ☆
204. Max Factor [@MaxFactor蜜丝佛陀] weibo.com/mfchina ☆
205. Maybelline [@美宝莲] weibo.com/maybelline09 ☆
206. McDonalds [@麦当劳] weibo.com/mcdonaldsworlds ☆
207. Mercedes-Benz [@奔驰中国] weibo.com/mymb ☆
208. Mido [@美度手表] weibo.com/midowatch ☆
209. Mini [@MINI中国] weibo.com/minichina ☆
210. Minute Maid [@美汁源橙客团] weibo.com/minutemaidpulpy ☆
211. Minute Maid Dairy [@美汁源果粒奶优] weibo.com/meizhiyuan ☆
212. Moët & Chandon [@MOET香槟] weibo.com/moetxiangbin ☆
213. Moleskine [@Moleskine] weibo.com/moleskine ☆
214. Monin [@MONIN莫林] weibo.com/monincn ☆
215. Montagne Jeunesse [@英国MJ面膜] weibo.com/mjmask ☆
216. Montblanc [@MONTBLANC万宝龙] weibo.com/montblancchina ☆
217. Morgan Motor Company [@摩根汽车有限公司] weibo.com/morgancars ☆
218. Moschino [@MOSCHINO莫斯奇诺] weibo.com/moschinofficial ☆
219. Mr Muscle [@庄臣-威猛先生] weibo.com/scjohnson ☆
220. National Geographic [@美国国家地理] weibo.com/geochannel
221. Nautica [@NAUTICA官方微博] weibo.com/nautica1983 ☆
222. Nescafé [@雀巢咖啡中国] weibo.com/nescafechina ☆
223. Neutrogena [@露得清官方微博] weibo.com/neutrogena ☆
224. Nivea [@NIVEA妮维雅官方] weibo.com/niveacn ☆
225. Nokia [@诺基亚] weibo.com/nokia ☆
226. Nomination [@Nomination] weibo.com/nomination ☆
227. Oakley [@Oakley] weibo.com/oakleychina
228. Oasis [@OASIS奥时裳] weibo.com/oasisuk ☆
229. Ogilvy & Mather [@奥美中国] weibo.com/ogilvy ☆
230. Olay [@OLAY] weibo.com/olay ☆
231. Omo [@奥妙] weibo.com/omochina ☆
232. Only [@ONLY中国官方微博] weibo.com/onlycn ☆
233. Oral-B [@欧乐B] weibo.com/oralb ☆
234. Oriflame [@欧瑞莲Oriflame] weibo.com/oriflamechina ☆
235. Origins [@悦木之源] weibo.com/origins ☆
236. Orlane [@法国幽兰ORLANE] weibo.com/orlanechina ☆
237. OVS industry [@OVS中国] weibo.com/ovschina ☆
238. Oysho [@Oysho] weibo.com/oyshochina ☆
239. Pampers [@帮宝适] weibo.com/pampers ☆
240. Pantene [@潘婷CLINICARE] weibo.com/panteneclinicare ☆
241. Pepsi-Cola [@百事可乐官方微博] weibo.com/1770691990 ☆
242. PerkinElmer [@PerkinElmer中国] weibo.com/pkicn ☆
243. Perrier [@Perrier中国] weibo.com/perrierchina ☆
244. Peugeot [@标致中国] weibo.com/peugeotchina ☆
245. Pilgrim [@PILGRIM官方微博] weibo.com/pilgrimchina ☆
246. Pond's [@旁氏Ponds] weibo.com/pondszun ☆
247. Pringles [@品客大叔Pringles] weibo.com/mrpringles ☆
248. Procter & Gamble [@宝洁中国] weibo.com/proctergamble ☆
249. PUMA [@PUMA彪马] weibo.com/pumablog
250. Quaker Oats [@桂格燕麦] weibo.com/quaker ☆
251. Qualcomm [@Qualcomm中国] weibo.com/qualcommchina ☆
252. Rado [@RADO瑞士雷达表] weibo.com/radochina ☆
253. Range Rover Evoque [@路虎揽胜极光] weibo.com/rangeroverevoque ☆
254. Ray-Ban [@Ray-Ban雷朋] weibo.com/raybanchina ☆
255. Reebok [@锐步Reebok] weibo.com/reebokchina
256. Rémy Martin [@人头马1898] weibo.com/remymartin1898 ☆
257. Renault [@雷诺中国] weibo.com/renaultchina ☆
258. Reuters [@路透中文网Reuters] weibo.com/reuters
259. Revlon [@露华浓中国] http://weibo.com/revlonchina ☆
260. Rexona [@舒耐Rexona] weibo.com/rexona2011 ☆
261. Rimmel [@芮谜Rimmel] weibo.com/rimmelchina ☆
262. Roxy [@ROXY中国] weibo.com/roxycn ☆
263. Royal Canin [@皇家宠物食品官方微博] weibo.com/chinaroyalcanin ☆
264. Safeguard [@舒肤佳Safeguard] weibo.com/safeguardchina ☆
265. Salvatore Ferragamo [@SalvatoreFerragamo] weibo.com/ferragamochina ☆
266. Sam's Club [@山姆会员商店] weibo.com/samsclubchina ☆
267. Saatchi & Saatchi [@盛世长城中国] weibo.com/saatchichina ☆
268. Scholl [@爽健官方微博] weibo.com/schollchina ☆
269. Schwarzkopf [@施华蔻官方微博] weibo.com/schwarzkopfretail ☆
270. Seat [@西雅特汽车] weibo.com/seatchina ☆
271. Sennheiser [@Sennheiser声海] weibo.com/sennheiserchina ☆
272. Sephora [@丝芙兰SEPHORA] weibo.com/sephorachina ☆
273. Shure [@Shure舒尔] weibo.com/shurechina ☆
274. Siemens [@西门子] weibo.com/siemens ☆
275. Siemens Home Appliances [@西门子家电] weibo.com/siemenshome ☆
276. Sisley Paris [@法国希思黎] weibo.com/sisleychina ☆
277. Skittles [@Skittles彩虹糖] weibo.com/skittlesfun ☆
278. Smirnoff [@Smirnoff斯米诺伏特加] weibo.com/smirnoffchina ☆
279. Snickers [@士力架酷玩儿] weibo.com/myurbania ☆
280. Sotheby's [@蘇富比拍卖行] weibo.com/sothebyshongkong ☆
281. Sprite [@雪碧炫灵感] weibo.com/spritespark ☆
282. Stanley Black & Decker [@史丹利百得官方微博] weibo.com/stanleyblackdecker ☆
283. Staples [@史泰博中国] weibo.com/staplescn ☆
284. Starbucks [@星巴克中国] weibo.com/starbucks ☆
285. Stella Artois [@StellaArtois时代啤酒] weibo.com/stellaartoischina ☆
286. Stradivarius [@Stradivarius] weibo.com/stradivarius ☆
287. Subway Shēnzhèn [@SUBWAY深圳赛百味] weibo.com/szsubway ☆
288. Subway Zhèjiāng [@SUBWAY浙江赛百味] weibo.com/subwayzhejiang ☆
289. Swanson [@史云生官方微博] weibo.com/swanson ☆
290. Swarovski [@SWAROVSKI施华洛世奇] weibo.com/swarovskicom ☆
291. Swatch [@SWATCH斯沃琪] weibo.com/swatch
292. Tektronix [@泰克科技] weibo.com/tekchina ☆
293. Texas Instruments [@德州仪器] weibo.com/tisemi ☆
294. The North Face [@TheNorthFace] weibo.com/thenorthface ☆
295. Thermos [@膳魔师THERMOS] weibo.com/thermoslife
296. Tide [@汰渍Tide] weibo.com/tidechina ☆
297. Tiffany & Co. [@TiffanyAndCo蒂芙尼] weibo.com/tiffanyandco ☆
298. Timberland [@TimberlandChina] weibo.com/timberlandchina ☆
299. TimeOut Běijīng [@TimeOut北京] http://weibo.com/timeoutbj
300. TimeOut Hong Kong [@TimeOut香港] weibo.com/Timeouthk
301. TimeOut Shànghǎi [@TimeOut上海] weibo.com/timeoutsh
302. Tissot [@天梭中国] weibo.com/tissot1853 ☆
303. Titan [@TITAN中国] weibo.com/titanchina ☆
304. TNT [@TNT中国] weibo.com/tntexpresschina ☆
305. TOD'S [@TODS] weibo.com/todsgroup ☆
306. Tory Burch [@ToryBurch官方微博] weibo.com/toryburch ☆
307. Trek [@崔克中国] weibo.com/trekchina ☆
308. Twinings [@Twinings川宁茶微博] weibo.com/twinings ☆
309. Umbro [@UMBRO中国] weibo.com/umbrochina ☆
310. Unilever [@有家就有联合利华] weibo.com/unilevercn ☆
311. UPS [@UPS中国] weibo.com/upschina ☆
312. Vans [@Vanschina] weibo.com/vanschina ☆
313. Veet [@薇婷官方微博] weibo.com/veet ☆
314. Vero Moda [@VEROMODA中国官方微博] weibo.com/veromodachina ☆
315. Versace [@Versace] weibo.com/versacechina ☆
316. Vidal Sassoon [@沙宣VidalSassoon] weibo.com/vidalsassoon ☆
317. Virgin Atlantic [@维珍航空中国] weibo.com/virginair ☆
318. Vogue [@Vogue服饰与美容] weibo.com/voguechina
319. Volvo Cars [@沃尔沃汽车VolvoCars] weibo.com/volvocarschina ☆
320. Weight Watchers [@慧俪轻体] weibo.com/weightwatchers ☆
321. Wella [@Wella威娜专业美发] weibo.com/wellaprofessionals ☆
322. Windsor Whiskey [@温莎WINDSOR威士忌] weibo.com/windsorwhisky ☆
323. Wrangler [@Wrangler美国牛仔旗帜] weibo.com/wranglerchina ☆
324. Wrigley's Chew Bar [@嚼吧] weibo.com/chewbar ☆
325. Wrigley's Doublemint [@绿箭铁盒] weibo.com/tincan2010 ☆
326. Zara [@ZARA_CN] weibo.com/zarachina ☆
327. Zippo [@Zippo中国] weibo.com/zippocn ☆

Chinese Companies 5

Following on from my previous posts Chinese Companies, Chinese Companies 2, Chinese Companies 3 and Chinese Companies 4 I will now try for another 100+ Chinese IDNs. As usual there are some types of IDNs I do not list in my blog and these types are:

• Any IDN that redirects to an ASCII Domain Name
• Any IDN that is implemented as a Frame Redirect
• Any IDN that requires the www prefix as I want IDNs that are completely Chinese

These restrictions I impose means that the IDNs I do list are fully integrated into the IDN's website.

1. Běijīng Beglary Lighting Equipment Installation Engineering 北京倍佳伲照明设备安装工程有限公司 倍佳妮.中国
2. Běijīng Donview Digital Technology 北京东方中原数码科技有限公司 东方中原.中国
3. Běijīng Hànlín Shèngshì Media Investment 北京翰林胜士传媒投资有限公司 翰林胜士.中国
4. Běijīng Huachen Auctions 北京华辰拍卖有限公司 华辰拍卖.中国
5. Běijīng Zhōngxīng Think Tank International Culture Communication 北京中兴智库国际文化传媒有限公司 中兴智库.中国
6. Chángzhōu Hu-Lift Hoist Machinery 江苏省常州市沪力起重机械有限公司 沪力起重.中国
7. Chéngdū Natural Impression of Wood 成都自然印象木业有限公司 成都自然印象木业有限公司.中国
8. Dàzhèng Silo Engineering 安阳市大正钢板仓有限责任公司 钢板库.中国
9. Dōngguǎn Fùměikāng Electrical Technology 东莞富美康电器科技有限公司 富美康.中国
10. Dotop Medical Equipment Group 东唐医疗集团 东唐医疗.中国
11. Eastdawn Corporation 北京东方道迩信息技术股份有限公司 东方道迩.中国
12. Guǎngzhōu Sinovico International Corridor Agency 广州欧亚走廊国际货运代理有限公司 中亚陆桥.中国 + 欧亚走廊.中国
13. HiChina Zhìchéng Technology 北京万网志成科技有限公司 创联在线.中国 + 创联公司.中国 + 北京创联.中国 + 接入服务.中国 + 交换中心.中国 + 网站寄存.中国 + 网上营销.中国 + 网络推广.中国 + 文件.中国 + 上网联盟.中国 + 虚拟主机提供商.中国 + 您好中国.中国 + 内容策划.中国 + 企业上网联盟.中国 + 你好中国.中国 + 拨号上网.中国 + 国际域名.中国 + 国际域名注册.中国 ++ 創聯在線.中國 + 創聯公司.中國 + 北京創聯.中國 + 接入服務.中國 + 交換中心.中國 + 網站寄存.中國 + 網上營銷.中國 + 網絡推廣.中國 + 文件.中國 + 上網聯盟.中國 + 虛擬主機提供商.中國 + 您好中國.中國 + 內容策劃.中國 + 企業上網聯盟.中國 + 你好中國.中國 + 撥號上網.中國 + 國際域名.中國
14. Landbond Group 广东联邦家私集团有限公司 联邦家私.中国
15. Memories Fargo Overall Household 成都市金牛区鑫大亚厨卫经营部 忆法格整体家居.中国
16. Old Herbalist Doctor 广东老中医保健食品有限公司 老中医养生.中国
17. WANVE 广东万维博通信息技术有限公司 万维博通.中国
18. Zhōnglín International Group 中林国际集团 中林国际集团.中国

Loughborough in Dubai

The following photos were taken in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. Featured in the photos is an internationalized Loughborough Market T-shirt. The text printed on the T-shirt is 拉夫堡市场 which is Chinese for Loughborough Market.

A very big thank you to 刘家杰 for having these photos taken whilst on stopover in Dubai and for giving me permission to put them on my blog

① The Dubai Mall en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dubai_Mall & www.thedubaimall.com

② Khalifa Tower - Burj Khalifa - ‎برج خليفة‎ en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Burj_Khalifa & www.burjkhalifa.ae

Sri Lanka

I notice that there are now a reasonable number of live idns using the Sri Lankan idn ccTLDs. Sri Lanka has ccTLDs in the Sinhala script (.ලංකා) and the Tamil script (.இலங்கை). The following is a random selection of some of the Sri Lankan ccTLD IDNs.

1. Department of Agriculture
   • Sinhala: වෙබ්.රජය.ලංකා
2. Lake House: Associated Newspapers of Ceylon
   • Sinhala: වෙබ්.ලේක්හවුස්.ලංකා
3. Millennium Information Technologies
   • Sinhala: වෙබ්.මිලේනියම්අයිටී.ලංකා
4. Parliament of Sri Lanka
• Sinhala: වෙබ්.පාර්ලිමේන්තුව.ලංකා
• Tamil: தளம்.பாராளுமன்றம்.இலங்கை

If the Sinhala and/or Tamil does not display correctly in your browser then it is highly likely that you do not have a Sinhala and/or Tamil font installed on your computer. The GNU FreeFont project has a free family of fonts that includes Sinhala and Tamil. You can download this free font family from www.ctan.org/tex-archive/fonts/gnu-freefont

British Universities on Sina

There are now quite a number of British Universities using China's Sina Wēibó 新浪微博. I applaud their enterprise and initiative.

1. Abertay University [@阿伯泰大学] weibo.com/abertayuni
2. Aberystwyth University [@亚伯大学] weibo.com/aberystwyth
3. Arts University Bournemouth [@伯恩茅斯艺术大学] weibo.com/aucb
4. Aston University [@阿斯顿大学Official] weibo.com/universityaston
5. Aston University Business School [@英国阿斯顿大学商学院] weibo.com/astonbusinessschool
6. Bangor University [@班戈大学Bangor] weibo.com/bangor1884
7. Bath Spa University [@英国巴斯斯巴大学] weibo.com/BathSpaUni
8. Birmingham City University 伯明翰城市大学 weibo.com/bcuchina
9. Cardiff University [@Cardiff-University] weibo.com/cardiffuni
10. City University London [@CityUniversityLondon] weibo.com/cityuniversitylondon
11. Coventry University 考文垂大学 weibo.com/coventryuniversity
12. Cranfield University [@英国克兰菲尔德大学] weibo.com/cranfielduni
13. De Montfort University [@德蒙福特大学] weibo.com/dmuchina
14. Durham University [@杜伦大学Durham_University] weibo.com/durhamuni
15. Edinburgh Napier University [@英国爱丁堡龙比亚大学] weibo.com/edinburghnapier
16. Glasgow Caledonian University [@格拉斯哥卡利多尼亚大学] weibo.com/caledonian
17. Imperial College London [@帝国理工学院官微] weibo.com/ImperialUK
18. Keele University [@英国基尔大学微博] weibo.com/keeleuni
19. King's College London [@伦敦国王学院时事] weibo.com/kingsevents
20. Kingston University London 金斯顿大学 weibo.com/kingstonlondon
21. Lancaster University 兰卡斯特大学 weibo.com/lancasteruni
22. Leeds Metropolitan University 利兹都会大学 weibo.com/leedsmetropolitan
23. London Metropolitan University 伦敦城市大学 weibo.com/londonmet
24. London South Bank University [@伦敦南岸大学] weibo.com/lsbubj
25. Middlesex University [@英国国立密德萨斯大学] weibo.com/middlesexuniversity
26. Northumbria University 诺森比亚大学 weibo.com/unnchina
27. Nottingham Trent University [@英国诺丁汉特伦特大学] weibo.com/ntuinternational
28. Queen Mary, University of London [@伦敦大学-玛丽女王学院] weibo.com/qmul
29. Robert Gordon University [@罗伯特戈顿大学] weibo.com/RobertGordonuni
30. Sheffield Hallam University 谢菲尔德哈勒姆大学 weibo.com/shuuk
31. SOAS, University of London [@SOAS_University_of_London] weibo.com/SOASLondon
32. St Maryʼs University, London [@英国伦敦圣玛丽大学] weibo.com/stmaryslondon
33. Swansea University [@斯旺西大学] weibo.com/swanseauni
34. Teesside University [@英国-提赛德大学] weibo.com/teessideuniversity
35. University of Bedfordshire [@英国贝德福特大学] weibo.com/bedschina
36. University of Bradford [@英国布拉德福德大学] weibo.com/universityofbradford
37. University of Bristol 布里斯托大学 weibo.com/bristol
38. University of Derby 德比大学 weibo.com/derbychina
39. University of East London [英国东伦敦大学UEL] weibo.com/uelchina
40. University of Essex 埃塞克斯大学官方微博 weibo.com/universityofessex
41. University of Exeter [@埃克塞特大学官博] weibo.com/exeteruni
42. University of Glasgow [@英国_格拉斯哥大学] weibo.com/glasgowuniversity
43. University of Hertfordshire [@英国赫特福德大学] weibo.com/uniofherts
44. University of Huddersfield [@哈德斯菲尔德大学] weibo.com/hudchina
45. University of Leicester 英国莱斯特大学 weibo.com/leicesteruniversity
46. University of Lincoln [@英国林肯大学ISC] weibo.com/lincolnisc
47. University of Liverpool [@英国利物浦大学] weibo.com/liverpooluniversity
48. University of Manchester [@曼彻斯特大学官方] weibo.com/uomofficial
49. University of Manchester Business School 英国曼彻斯特商学院 weibo.com/mbschinacentre
50. University of Northampton [@英国北安普顿大学] weibo.com/northampton
51. University of Nottingham [@英国诺丁汉大学官方微博] weibo.com/uoneao
52. University of Oxford [@牛津大学] weibo.com/OxfordUni
53. University of Reading [@英国-雷丁大学] weibo.com/readingchina
54. University of Salford [@英国索尔福德大学] weibo.com/salforduniversity
55. University of Sheffield [@谢菲尔德大学官方微博] weibo.com/sheffielduni
56. University of Sunderland 桑德兰大学 weibo.com/sunderlandchina
57. University of Surrey [@UniversityOfSurrey萨里大学] weibo.com/UniOfSurrey
58. University of Sussex [@英国萨塞克斯大学] weibo.com/sussexchina
59. University of Wales, Newport 威尔士新港大学 weibo.com/newport
60. University of West England [@英国西英格兰大学UWE] weibo.com/uwechina
61. University of West London [@英国西伦敦大学UWL] weibo.com/westlondonuniversity .
62. University of Westminster 威斯敏斯特大学 weibo.com/westminsterchina
63. University of Worcester [@英国伍斯特大学] weibo.com/uniofworcesteruk
64. York St John University [@约克圣约翰大学] weibo.com/yorksju

Loughborough in Europe

The following photos were taken in various parts of Europe, mainly Southern Europe. The person featured in the photos is 余意 (Yúyì). She is wearing one of the internationalized Loughborough Market T-shirts. The text printed on the T-shirt is 拉夫堡市场 which is Chinese for Loughborough Market.

A very big thank you to 余意 for having these photos taken whilst on holiday in Europe and for giving me permission to put them on my blog.

① 余意 in Athens, Greece.

② 余意 in Santorini, Greece.

③ 余意 in Venice, Italy.

④ 余意 in Zurich, Switzerland

IDN Whitelisting

When browsing using IDNs (Internationalized Domain Names) it is important that the Unicode form is displayed in the browser address bar and not the Punycode form. Only the Unicode form is human readable. Well it is if you know the language the IDN is written in. Lets take the Korean web address 송파구청.한국 by way of example.

• 송파구청.한국 is the Unicode form
• xn--2e0b569ap6hmmg.xn--3e0b707e is the Punycode form

You can convert between Unicode and Punycode forms using Verisign's online IDN Conversion Tool.

Unfortunately browsers do not always display the Unicode form but instead display the Punycode form in the address bar. Personally I consider that all browsers should always display the Unicode form. By displaying the Punycode form the browsers are impeding internationalization of the internet. The reason they give for displaying the Punycode form is for "Security". I am not convinced it is necessary because Registries take their own security measures to ensure registration of legitimate IDNs.

Ensuring display of  the Unicode form of IDNs is achieved by whitelisting. Different browsers have different whitelisting strategies and different methods for whitelisting.  My setup is MacOSX 10.6.8 using the English OSX and English versions of the browsers.

Firefox (v5.0.1)

Firefox whitelists by TLD (Top Level Domain). If a TLD is whitelisted the Unicode form will be displayed in the address bar☺. If a TLD is not whitelisted the Punycode form will be displayed in the address bar☹. There are many TLDs that are not whitelisted by default in Firefox.

One can view which TLDs are whitelisted in firefox:

• Open a Firefox window & type about:config in the address bar
• Click the I'll be careful, I promise button
• Type network.IDN.whitelist into the filter box

You will now see a list of whitelisted TLDs. They are of the form network.IDN.whitelist.TLD. Note that some TLDs begin xn--. These are the Punycode forms of IDN TLDs.

Lets take the Korean IDN 송파구청.한국 as an example. 한국 means Korea and is a recently introduced IDN TLD and as such is not whitelisted by default. It is the Punycode and not the Unicode form that needs to be whitelisted in Firefox. The Punycode form of 한국 is xn--3e0b707e. Assuming you are still in the Firefox config window then in order to whitelist 한국:

• right click mouse
• select New  ▶  Boolean
• Enter the preference name network.IDN.whitelist.xn--3e0b707e
• set Boolean value to true and OK

Korean IDNs with the TLD 한국 will now display in Unicode form ie in Korean as one would naturally expect.

Google Chrome (v12.0.742.122)

Chrome will display the Unicode form for, as Google puts it, "those languages that the user claims to understand" otherwise the Punycode form will be displayed. As usual, for display, Unicode good Punycode bad.

I will again use 송파구청.한국 to illustrate. If you have a basic unconfigured English version of Chrome then, in the address bar, you will see xn--9d0br8l80kv9k92a984a.xn--3e0b707e displayed instead of 송파구청.한국 So we need to configure Chrome to display the Unicode form for Korean IDNs:

• go to Chrome Preferences
• click Under the Hood
• click Languages and Spell-checker Settings...
• in the Languages column click Add
• select Korean - 한국어 and OK that

Korean IDNs will now display correctly. Repeat for all other languages for which you want correct display of IDNs. For more detailed information see the IDN in Google Chrome article.

Safari (v5.1)

Safari whitelists IDNs by Script (as in the script used to write a language). Any IDN that is written in a whitelisted Script will be displayed in the address bar in Unicode form☺. Any IDN that is written in a Script that is not whitelisted will be displayed in Punycode form☹.

The whitelisted Scripts are in a text file entitled IDNScriptWhiteList.txt The pathname to this file is:

• /System/Library/Frameworks/WebKit.framework/Versions/Current/Resources

The default whitelisted Scripts are: Arabic, Armenian, Bopomofo, Canadian_Aboriginal, Devanagari, Deseret, Gujarati, Gurmukhi, Hangul, Han, Hebrew, Hiragana, Katakana_Or_Hiragana, Katakana, Latin, Tamil, Thai, Yi

If you want to whitelist other Scripts, such as, Cyrillic or Greek then you need to add the Script names to this file. You will require root privileges to edit this file.

Of all the browser whitelisting methods I have looked at I consider this the most rational but also, for the average user, the most difficult to configure. Apple should implement a simple user accessible method for whitelisting Scripts.

Loughborough Market T-shirts

On Saturday 23rd July Gordon Gekko, Jonny (刘家杰) and myself gave free T-shirts to Loughborough Market Stallholders. These T-shirts have Loughborough Market printed on them, not in English but in Chinese or Japanese. This endeavour is part of an initiative to internationalise Loughborough and make the World aware of Loughborough.

In the photo below Gordon Gekko, who is on the left, is wearing the Chinese T-shirt and Jonny is wearing the Japanese T-shirt. The text printed on the T-shirts is:

• 拉夫堡市场 which is Simplified Chinese for Loughborough Market
• ラフバラ市場 which is Japanese for Loughborough Market

Loughborough Market is on Thursdays and Saturdays so if you visit the market on a warm sunny day you may well see stallholders wearing these T-shirts.

Note: It may interest you to know that Gordon has the adopted Chinese name 恺心 (Kǎixīn).

Promoting Loughborough Internationally

Those of you that use Twitter will be familiar with the concept and use of hashtags. Recently Twitter implemented internationalized hashtags. Specifically, they introduced hashtags for Chinese, Japanese, Hangeul (Korean) and Cyrillic scripts. This presents a golden opportunity for Loughborough Twitterers to raise the international profile of Loughborough. Or to put it another way: Make the World aware of Loughborough.

All you need to do is put internationalised versions of #loughborough in your tweets. The more tweets that contain internationalised hashtags the more Loughborough will be noticed. If you would like to take part in this initiative then just copy one or more of the following hashtags and paste into your tweets.

• #拉夫堡
• #ラフバラ
• #러프버러
• #Лафборо

where

• 拉夫堡 is Chinese for Loughborough
• ラフバラ is Japanese for Loughborough
• 러프버러 is Korean for Loughborough
• Лафборо is Russian for Loughborough

By way of example, here is a link to one of my tweets in which I have used the Japanese #ラフバラ hashtag:

• http://twitter.com/#!/andreschappo/status/93953019670048768

Twitter Hashtags

One can now use Unicode hashtags in twitter. This means that hashtags are no longer restricted to ASCII characters. One can now, for instance, have hashtags written in the Chinese or Japanese. The hashtag #loughborough can be written in Chinese as #拉夫堡 and in Japanese as #ラフバラ . Unicode hashtags have been operational since 13th July 2011. The original announcement is on the Twitter Japan Blog at blog.jp.twitter.com/2011/07/blog-post.html. There is also an announcement of the new hangeul (한글) hashtags (해시태그/해쉬태그) on Twitter's Korea Blog at blog.kr.twitter.com/2011/07/blog-post.html

I gather from the announcement that the currently supported Scripts for hashtags are Chinese, Japanese, Hangeul and Cyrillic. Therefore the supported Scripts are a small subset of the Scripts available in the Unicode Character Set. I tested out some Scripts in hashtags and my results are:

1. Chinese ✓
2. Japanese ✓
3. Hangeul ✓
4. Cyrillic ✓
5. Thai ✗
6. Arabic ✗
7. Hebrew ✗
8. Devanagari ✗
9. Tamil ✗

The announcement states that symbols are not allowed in hashtags. I tested #→ #① #∛ #≤ #△ #☃ #◲ #✈ #❄ #☺and none work as hashtags.

An example tweet using Japanese hashtags is at http://twitter.com/#!/andreschappo/...

I had written a previous article which covered some of the Twitter i18n issues http://schappo.blogspot.com/2011/... The implementation of Unicode hashtags is a significant i18n step forward. It will be interesting to see how this new feature develops amongst Japanese language tweeters. I have already noticed that there are some long Japanese hashtags. As I write this blog I notice that currently there are two Japanese hashtag Trending Topics in Japan:

• #名言の文末を過去形にすると深みが増す
• #文頭に週刊をつけるとディアゴスティーニ風になる

Japanese does not use the space character between words and so it is easy and natural to create long Japanese hashtags. It could be the length of a complete tweet by simply having # as the first character.

China's SNS

I have frequently advocated the use of China's SNS in order to have a presence in China. I have had a Sina Microblog 新浪微博 for several weeks weibo.com/andreschappo. Sina's Microblog is a closed system so you will need to register an account in order to view my microblog. The exception is that with Verified Users one can view the first few postings without an account. My account is not verified.

On Saturday, with the help of 刘家杰, I created a Sina Blog 新浪博客 blog.sina.com.cn/andreschappo. Unlike Sina Microblog, Sina Blog is an open system and so you can view my blog without registering an account.

Twitter i18n

There are a number of internationalization (i18n) issues with Twitter. I use Twitter directly from a browser. If you use a Twitter client then your experiences could differ from mine. A client could, for instance, reconstruct Unicode Domain Names from a Punycode form. I deliberately use twitter from a browser so that I can determine what is happening at base level. Additionally I do not use any twitter related browser extensions. So now to the i18n twitter issues that I have so far encountered.

hashtags

If I use an ASCII hashtag then it works as expected. If though I use non ASCII Unicode characters then twitter does not recognize it as a hashtag. eg #loughborough works but #ラフバラ does not.

Sina's Microblog 新浪微博, unlike twitter, does have Unicode hashtags. Twitter uses a single # character as a prefix to the text. 新浪微博 uses a pair of # characters to bracket the text. By way of example, #ラフバラ# is a valid Unicode hashtag which I have used on my 新浪微博 weibo.com/andreschappo

ラフバラ is loughborough written in Japanese Katakana.

IDNs

Several countries now have functioning idn ccTLDs. A recently live ccTLD is Korea's dot 한국. Lets take the new IDN for Songpa District Office, Seoul, Korea. Their IDN should show on twitter as a live clickable link ie 송파구청.한국. Twitter, though, does not process it as a valid web address and so it just shows as plain text on twitter ie http://송파구청.한국/

If, though, I use an IDN with an ASCII TLD then twitter recognizes it as a valid web address and displays it as a live clickable link. See twitter.com/andreschappo/...

Auto Shortening

Twitter are rolling out an automatic link shortening service. Link shortening (currently) kicks in at 11 characters. The character count includes the http:// prefix. http://t.co is exactly 11 characters and one cannot have a shorter link. Therefore all tweet links will be shortened. Some time since yesterday I have been rolled in and so now my links are auto shortened by twitter. Not a problem for ASCII links but a new problem arises with IDN links. The punycode form is displayed in the tweet instead of the unicode form. See twitter.com/andreschappo/...

Instead of displaying xn--2e0b569ap6hmmg.kr twitter should display the unicode form 송파구청.kr. The underlying href link, as created by twitter, is http://t.co/tzlxTh4

URLs

Lets now add a pathname part to a Domain Name. Add an ASCII pathname part and all is fine. Take an ASCII Domain Name and add a non ASCII Unicode pathname and twitter fails to recognize the full URL.

In a tweet I want http://ta.gd/러프버러 to appear as ta.gd/러프버러 Instead it appears as ta.gd러프버러 The ASCII Domain Name is processed as a link but the Unicode pathname part is not being treated as part of the URL and is just displayed as plain text. One ends up with an incomplete URL.