The net's top co-ordination body has been given 12 months to improve by the US Government.

The agreement giving power to Icann, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, to oversee the net's core addressing system runs out at the end of September.

The US Government has extended the agreement for another year but said it wanted to see real progress on reform.

Since it was created Icann has been regularly criticised by net luminaries who say it does a bad job of looking after the internet's interests.

"Frankly disappointed"

Icann was created in 1998 by the US Government to look after the net's addressing system.

Although Icann does its job on behalf of all net users, many of its decisions still have to be rubber-stamped by the US Department of Commerce and it only exists because the government lets it.

This week the Department of Commerce extended for another year the agreement that gives Icann this right to life.

But stringent conditions were added to the extension.

Assistant Commerce Secretary Nancy Victory declared that the department was "frankly disappointed" at the slow progress of Icann change.

Earlier this year Icann embarked on a reform program that led it to shed links with rank-and-file net users and attempt to get more solid backing by other internet groups.

The details of the changes, which will alter the board of the net group, are still being debated. The US Department of Commerce said Icann deserved a chance to prove the changes were working.

The Commerce Department said it would take a closer interest in the workings of Icann, demand more regular reports and encourage it to come up with a plan to make core net systems more secure.

It also wants Icann to find a way to involve more international groups in the running of the body.