New Net domain set up

The first of a number of new top-level domain name registries is scouting office properties in Dublin for a suitable base for its global headquarters.

Afilias, a consortium comprising 18 different domain name registrars, was recently awarded the licence to operate .info, the first of seven new top-level domains approved by the International Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers, the body responsible for assigning and administering internet domain names.

Mr Roland LaPlante, chief marketing officer with Afilias, said that .info was the first new top level domain to be created in 10 years. The introduction of the new domains will take pressure off the existing ones - .com, .net and .org - which are heavily oversubscribed.

Mr LaPlante said that, since .info would be international in scope, it was decided to establish its office in Dublin to demonstrate that it was not a US- focused organisation. It planned to employ four or five people at first, rising eventually to about 20, he said.

The company began registrations for .info on July 25th and the response had been "terrific", said Mr LaPlante. "Most of the top 100 global companies have registered for a .info address as well as a wide variety of other organisations." Afilias estimates that three million registrations will be made in the first year.

But why should companies bother to register for a new domain address when most already have a .com and various national top-level domain addresses? "Internet users are finding that navigating the Net is getting very cumbersome," he said.

The idea of releasing more top-level domains is similar to the principle of the 1800 toll-free number because they are easier to remember, said Mr LaPlante. A customer who is just looking for information on a particular company rather than needing to conduct a business transactions can log on to a .info site without having to navigate a .com site to get there.

Formal registration of new .info domain names will be open at http://www.afilias.info from September 12th, 2001, and all new names are expected to become live and accessible through any internet browser on September 19th, 2001.

Registration costs are likely to be comparable to that of a typical .com domain name.