World of web names poised to get wider.
Internet regulators are considering looser restrictions on internet names, which could allow thousands of variations of suffixes beyond the basic .com or .ca.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is voting Thursday in Paris on whether to allow new domain names to be used, a ruling that, if approved, would be considered to be one of the biggest changes to the internet in its 25-year history.
It would allow for domain names that have been requested, and denied by ICANN, for years, such as .xxx for adult websites and .post for postal service websites.
Companies with well-known names like eBay, Apple or Google could also end up requesting domain names if the new rules are approved, snatching up names like .ebay, .mac and .goog.
"What this really looks at is opening up that domain-name real estate so that people can have choice. They could place [their address] in dot com, or they could make choices based on what's on the market," ICANN vice-president Paul Levins told CBC News.
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Internet regulators are considering looser restrictions on internet names, which could allow thousands of variations of suffixes beyond the basic .com or .ca.
The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is voting Thursday in Paris on whether to allow new domain names to be used, a ruling that, if approved, would be considered to be one of the biggest changes to the internet in its 25-year history.
It would allow for domain names that have been requested, and denied by ICANN, for years, such as .xxx for adult websites and .post for postal service websites.
Companies with well-known names like eBay, Apple or Google could also end up requesting domain names if the new rules are approved, snatching up names like .ebay, .mac and .goog.
"What this really looks at is opening up that domain-name real estate so that people can have choice. They could place [their address] in dot com, or they could make choices based on what's on the market," ICANN vice-president Paul Levins told CBC News.
Read full story
What new domain names would you like to see?
More...