ICANN Accredits New Top-Level Domains

[NFFC]

"The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced today that it has finalized accreditation agreements with the new .biz and .info top-level domain (TLD) registries. This will mark the first introduction of new global top-level domains since the mid 1980s when the current domain name system became operational. These new registries will add to the already familiar registries such as .com, .org, and .edu"

More here [icann.org]

[skibum]

More domains = more expense = more IP disputes = more confusion (especially for new users) = more spam, and maybe a few happy people whose .com domains are being held hostage squatters. The ones like .museum in the works, sound kind of rediculous, but if only museums were able to register them, it would help people more easily find topical information.

[rencke]

"Beginning in late June and ending in late July, Afilias will offer a 30 day "sunrise" period during which anyone with a registered national trademark can apply through a registrar for a .info domain name corresponding to the trademark."

So, the info-domain will be restricted to registered trade marks. That should limit its use very considerably.

[Added, having read some more] But after the sunrise period, everything is free for everybody and during the start-up phase there will be a lottery type system in effect until the end of August.