The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) voted overwhelmingly in favour of the proposal at a meeting in Singapore despite fears that opening up new suffixes could cause some confusion.[break]
"This is the biggest change to domain names since the creation of ´.com´ 26 years ago," said Theo Hnarakis, chief executive of Melbourne IT Digital Brand Services, a California-based company that provides online branding services.
Under the changes, businesses would no longer be restricted to the list of generic top level domains (gTLDs) that include .com, .net and .org when they apply to register a website address.
Brand owners will soon be able to operate their own parts of the Web -- such as .apple, .coke or .marlboro -- after the biggest shake-up yet in how Internet domains are awarded.
Prior to this, just 22 generic top-level domains (gTLDs) existed -- .com, .org and .info are a few examples -- plus about 250 country-level domains like .uk or .cn. After the change, several hundred new gTLDs are expected to be created.
It will cost $185,000 to apply, and individuals or organizations will have to show a legitimate claim to the name they are buying.
Industry observers say global giants such as Apple, Toyota and BMW, to cite examples from various regions, could be in the vanguard of launching websites with their own domain names.
Hnarakis told AFP that the companies that will benefit most are "big brands with a clear marketing and customer education strategy to exploit the name for competitive advantage."
"Brands need to act now if they want to apply for one of these new domain names as it is not as simple as registering a .com address. It is a complex task that needs thought and investment," he added.
ICANN board member Sebastien Bachollet, who was in favour of the proposal, said "some people feel that the new gTLDs will cause confusion."
But he added: "I trust we have the tools to ensure the phase of stress will be brief."
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