Domain names may go .wild; Internet group approves Web-address extensions - Webmaster Forum

06-28-2008, 09:44 AM

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Domain names may go .wild; Internet group approves Web-address extensions

Domain names may go .wild; Internet group approves Web-address extensions

PARIS — Starting in early 2009, almost any word will be able to replace ".com" or ".net" in a Web page address, thanks to a decision on Thursday by the international group controlling Internet addresses.

Get ready for a nearly infinite variety of new Web addresses ending in ".perfume," ".sports," ".nyc" and ".prettymuchanythingyouwant."

Heralding the most dramatic expansion of virtual real estate in 40 years, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, or ICANN, said any company, organization or country will soon be able to apply for a new Web address extension, called a top-level domain.

ICANN, a nonprofit based in Marina del Rey, Calif., wants "to increase competition and choice," says CEO Paul Twomey.

The news is likely to spark a scramble for desirable addresses, and could force businesses to register thousands of domains to protect their brands. And it could make some Web pages easier — and some harder — to find.

"It is an amazing development," says Tom Lowenhaupt, who heads Connecting.nyc, a New York City community group pushing for a ".nyc" domain.

It could create a host of new ways to exploit the Web addressing system and trigger a wave of legal skirmishes over applications to register trademarks — ".coke," for example.

ICANN officials said any applications for the new domains would have to go through an independent review process. Third parties will be able to challenge applications on the grounds that a particular suffix could threaten "morality and public order." And companies will have the first priority when it comes to claiming their brand names.

If multiple parties want a name — as is already the case with ".sports" — conflicts will be settled through auctions.

Currently, the domain-name system consists of more than 20 suffixes, which follow the last dot in a Web address. Domains have so far been generally restricted to labels for countries — ".ca" for Canada, for example — and descriptions for broad categories like ".com" for commerce and ".org" for institutional organizations.

Address extensions that ICANN added more recently, like ".biz" in 2001 and ".mobi" in 2005, have been largely ignored and in some cases have been adopted mostly by spammers and other maldoers.

"We're expecting a broad range of applicants. Indigenous communities might come forward to protect aspects of their language and culture," said Peter Dengate Thrush, ICANN's chairman. "We may see a '.smith' so that all the Smiths in the world will have a place.

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