Dear Mr. Cerf:

With this letter I transmit to you a "Statement Opposing Political
Intervention in the Internet's Core Technical Functions." The
Statement expresses the signatories' concern over the Department of
Commerce's August 11, 2005 letter to the Internet Corporation for
Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) regarding the creation of a <.xxx>
top level domain. We urge you to read the full statement as it expresses
our concerns regarding the precedent this action might have on
governmental intervention in ICANN.

The attached statement has obtained the support of 102 experts in
Internet and telecommunication policy, Internet businesspeople, and
Internet users from various nations. 

The letter and the list of signatories have also been transmitted to
the Secretary of Commerce, and the Assistant Secretary for
Communications and Information. We hope this can be posted on ICANN's
correspondence section of the website and brought to the attention of
the ICANN Board. 

Sincerely,


Dr. Milton Mueller
Syracuse University School of Information Studies
http://www.digital-convergence.org
http://www.internetgovernance.org