The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers voted Thursday to relax rules for naming Web sites.
At its meeting in Paris, ICANN, a not-for-profit organization that oversees the naming scheme for Web sites, voted to accept a proposal that will allow companies to purchase new top-level domain names ending in whatever they like.
So, for example, instead of being restricted to sites ending in .com or .org., eBay could have a site that ends in .ebay, or New York City could end its Web site with .nyc.
The new naming process will begin in 2009. The first suffixes will likely be given to businesses and other major organizations. Countries are expected to keep their specific suffixes, but as in the example above cities could also get individualized URLs, such as .london or .chicago.
In an effort to deter cybersquatters, the organization is likely to charge a hefty price for the new names. Some experts estimate the new domain names could cost anywhere from $50,000 to $100,000 or more. ICANN plans to give companies with trademarked names priority for their names.
Paul Twomey, CEO of ICANN
(Credit: ICANN)The group also voted to open public comment on a proposal that would allow countries to use non-English script. For example, companies could use Chinese or Arabic script to identify their web sites.
Paul Twomey, the chief executive of ICANN, told the BBC earlier this week that allowing the new naming conventions would create new "real estate" on the Internet. But some experts worry that it could unleash a gold rush mentality. While trademarked names will only be available to those trademark holders, there are loads of common words that people could want to register, such as .sex.
The suffix .xxx was rejected by ICANN last year, but it could also prove to be a popular suffix under the more relaxed policy. Still, Twomey told Agence France Press that the organization will still try to block or reject any domain name it deems inappropriate for security or moral reasons.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers is getting ready to vote later this week to open up the Internet naming convention to allow more options.
On Thursday at its meeting in Paris, ICANN, the not-for-profit organization charged with overseeing the Internet's naming scheme, will vote on a proposal that would allow companies to purchase new generic top-level domains ending in almost anything they want. So instead of being limited to .com, .org or .co.uk as the last letters of their Web addresses, companies or organizations could add their company name to the end of their URL. For example, eBay could become .ebay or Intel could be .intel. Even cities could name their Web sites .newyork or .berlin.
But the new names, which could be ready in 2009, won't come cheap. As a result, it's unlikely that individuals will be able to take advantage of the new naming conventions to create more personalized Web sites. The exact price to register these new names isn't yet known, but some experts predict it could cost about $50,000 to register a new domain name.
The high price is also likely to deter cybersquatters. ICANN is expected to give priority to companies or organizations with trademarked names.
The new addressing scheme should alleviate fears that ICANN will run out of addresses. The organization estimated last year that only 17 percent of the original 4 billion network addresses remained available. And it predicted that it would run out of new addresses within the next five years.
Paul Twomey, the CEO of ICANN, told the BBC that allowing the new naming conventions would create new "real estate" on the Internet.
"It's a massive increase in the geography of the real estate of the Internet," he said.
If the proposal is accepted by ICANN's board then almost any extension that is 64 characters or less could be used. My colleague at ZDNet.co.uk points out that this means that the .xxx domain extension, which has been proposed for the adult entertainment industry could be used. ICANN rejected the .xxx application in 2007.
New top-level domains are once again on the horizon.
ICANN, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, said on Thursday that it would begin accepting applications for new suffixes early next year.
The problem, though, is that new top-level domains aren't necessarily going to be that useful or interesting.
The venerable .com suffix still remains the Internet's prime real estate, and ones like .info and .biz seem to have become more used by spammers than legitimate businesses. ICANN's final rejection of .xxx this year, even there was no technical or legal reason not to approve it, has severely politicized the process. Instead of using .museum, the world's most famous ones go by louvre.fr, museumoflondon.org.uk, and metmuseum.org. And so on.
Still, ICANN is going ahead. "If the new approval process comes on-line as planned, the global Internet could see new top-level domains added and available between June and August 2008," ICANN president Paul Twomey said in a statement.
Expect more details at ICANN's meeting in June in Puerto Rico.
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