ICANN, the agency that oversees the assignment of internet addresses, has settled a dispute with security and services firm VeriSign, which controls the .com and .net domains, reports the New York Times. The two have been in a fight since the agency challenged VeriSign's controversial SiteFinder service, introduced in late 2003, which redirected surfers who mistyped web addresses to sites that VeriSign controlled. VeriSign sued ICANN in federal court; when that suit was thrown out in 2004, VeriSign, refiled in California state court.

Under the terms of the settlement, announced Monday, ICANN agreed to put in place a process for offering new services, and VeriSign's contract for operating the .com domain was extended.