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Faster shift towards new version of Internet

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The transition to the next-generation Internet protocol IPv6 is set to speed up this year as web addresses under the previous system run out, a senior industry figure said at a meeting about the web's future.

Internet protocol (IP) is the method by which data is routed by computers on the web. It is necessary for devices to connect online and every device, be it a computer, tablet or mobile device, has a unique IP address.

But the huge increase in Internet users and devices worldwide is putting a strain on the current system.

Mr Paul Wilson, director general of the Asia Pacific Network Information Centre, the region's Internet registry, said addresses on IPv4 worldwide are either exhausted or near exhaustion, AFP reported.

About 10 per cent of all global Internet traffic to Google, Facebook, and Yahoo! will use IPv6 by the end of this year, the Internet Society, an advisory panel, said on its website.