ICANN to vote on new Internet domain names

June 25, 2008

Ever wanted a new extension? I would be happy to have a company that can manage new domain name extension like .google (lady.google) or .yahoo. Now ICANN announced that you can have one and that will cost $50,000.

Imagine the new online business that you can have if you manage a domain name extension. Let’s make an example of .tv and .fm which are quiet popular. I am sure that if you can get a short extension you can get back the invested money almost instantly with just trademark names. Big companies like amazon will buy it with any price.

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.

Full Article: CNET