The US government has announced it will retain control of the internet's vital root zone file, which lists authorised top-level domains, banishing speculation that responsibility for the Domain Name System (DNS) would be transferred to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names

and Numbers (Icann).

US Assistant Commerce Secretary Michael Gallagher outlined the new principles, saying they were intended to ensure the "stability and security of the internet's DNS". 

The principles also stated that the US would "continue to provide oversight so that Icann maintains its focus and meets its core technical mission".

The announcement comes as the United Nations is investigating ways to give more control over the running of the internet to poorer nations, and may anger some countries that have criticised the US for exerting too much influence on the internet.

But Lesley Cowley of registrar Nominet, responsible for .uk addresses, said that the US has so far managed the DNS in a trustworthy and impartial manner. " We will see a lot of political positioning between now and the UN summit [on the Information Society] in November, and this is probably the first," she said.

Cowley added, "[Control of the] root zone file is really just an administrative function, not one of huge power. If [responsibility for it] was internationalised, it would add delay, complexity and make the whole thing very political."

But Cowley said Nominet would welcome the creation of an international forum to "chip away" at non-DNS matters like computer crime, spam prevention and freedom of speech issues.