Call the Internet democratic and a horde of disenfranchised offline citizens might protest. With one billion people online, the World Wide Web is off limits to more than five billion people. Broadband and dial-up hurdles aside, blame it on English, the language that dominates the online universe.

Starting on Monday, Web-domains incorporating 11 languages that don’t use the Roman alphabet will be tested. The domain-name suffix – or the part that follows the dot (like “com” or “org”) – could be written in non-Roman languages, such as Greek, Arabic or Chinese. Does it seem like a minor detail? Think twice.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the Web-domain naming issue has been loaded with geopolitical tension and bureaucracy. More than 170 countries claimed the right to Web-domain names in their languages at a United Nations summit in 2005. Internet users whose language does not use the Roman alphabet squabble that their lack of English knowledge is a barrier to their Internet usage.

Actually the Internet is supervised by the United Statesalone through its Marina del Rey, Calif.-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (Icann), a private nonprofit organization established in 1998, which reports to the U.S. Department of Commerce.

Defenders of the status quo in Internet domain names, claim that adopting other alphabets will lead to Internet fragmentation.

So, why don’t we all, English speakers, learn Chinese to remain cohesive?