Companies don’t know about new domains to be introduced by ICANN next year

According to a recent research 2/3 of businesses do not know that they can use their own name in place of domain extensions such as .com, .org, or .net when Internet domains are liberalized next year, reports Reuters. With the new rules companies like Microsoft and others will be able to control their own domain and better exploit their brands, and also counter cyber-squatters who use variations of brands on the 280 or so existing domain extensions.

"If you have '.nike', for example, you can create real and specific branded Websites, like 'running.nike' or 'runlondon.nike'," said Joe White, chief operating officer of domain registrar Gandi.net.

Future Laboratory, which conducted the research, said that the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) will expectedly start taking applications for new top-level domains early next year. Meantime, attention of many companies has been already attracted by the move, says the survey for Gandi.net.

"(Companies) are generally completely unaware of this change coming down the line," said White. "This change has not yet permeated into the mainstream for businesses or consumers."

"However, those businesses which are aware actually see the prospect as being quite exciting," he said.

Tom Savigar, Strategy and Insight Director at The Future Laboratory, said that initially the price of $185,000 will limit applications to the largest corporations and organizations. The number of applications expected by ICANN when it opens doors in the Q1 next year will make up 300-500.

Smaller businesses will be able to use more specific extensions to match their business sector or geography such as ".london" or ".paris," he said.