[Infowarrior] - ICANN adopts new Web site naming rules

[Richard Forno]

ICANN adopts new Web site naming rules
Posted by Marguerite Reardon 1 comment
http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9978448-7.html? 
part=rss&subj=news&tag=2547-1_3-0-20

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.

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.