If you think the internet is complicated enough, try it in Russian.

For Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, an avowed computer addict who came to power in May, it's a matter of national importance.

"We must do everything we can for the introduction of domain names in the Cyrillic alphabet on the internet. This is serious. It has a symbolic significance for the Russian language," Medvedev told a Moscow media forum on Wednesday.

The 42-year-old Russian president is an internet devotee who says he hardly every switches his computer off.

Asked last year about a popular internet slang used by young Russians, Medvedev joked it should be part of the school curriculum.

His comments about introducing Russia's Cyrillic alphabet chime with a campaign to widen the usage of Internationalised Domain Names (IDNs) that can accommodate other non-Latin alphabets such as Arabic, Chinese or Hindi.

AFP