Declan McCullagh writes on how "an international political spat is brewing over whether the United Nations will seize control of the heart of the Internet."

The UN Working Group on Internet Governance will report on July 18, and on July 28 the Internet Governance Project will hold a two-hour seminar on Regime Change on the Internet? Internet Governance After WGIG.

McCullagh notes the worst-case scenario:

Beyond the usual levers of diplomatic pressure and public kvetching, Brazil and China could choose what amounts to the nuclear option: a fragmented root. That means a new top-level domain would not be approved by ICANN--but would be recognized and used by large portions of the rest of the world. The downside, of course, is that the nuclear option could create a Balkanized Internet where two computers find different Web sites at the same address. . . . Such an outcome remains remote, but it could happen. That possibility means an obscure debate about Internet governance has suddenly become surprisingly important.