London to get own web domain suffix in 2014 LONDON: The Internet Corporation for Assigning Names and Numbers (ICANN) has announced that London will become one of the first cities to have its own web domain - .london - form the summer of 2014. ICANN signed a contract this week giving the new system the formal go-ahead. Experts say the move will be the biggest change to the online world since was launched nearly 30 years ago. London mayor Boris Johnson said, Tens of thousands of businesses including some of Londons most prestigious brands such as Selfridges and Carnaby Street have already expressed an interest in the new addresses which will be live online in summer 2014. By acquiring a .london address businesses, museums, shops, theatres and galleries will receive a domain name that is easy to remember and instantly identifies them as being located in London. Local businesses are also expected to benefit from consumers looking for services from London-based providers helping to attract more customers. According to Johnson, adopting the .london suffix will enable organizations to more closely associate themselves Londons global brand. Gordon Innes, chief executive of London and Partners, the mayors official promotional organization for London, said, When we have talked to London businesses and organizations about this, theyre extremely excited about the opportunities .london presents. We are already seeing huge interest - not just from Londons most prestigious stores and visitor attractions, but also from local businesses and trades people. With the support of the mayor of London, London and Partners successfully applied to ICANN in 2012 to set up and manage the new .london domain. A London & Partners subsidiary called Dot London Domains Ltd has been created and it has signed the contract with ICANN and will operate the .london registry. Dot London Domains now plans to allow London-based businesses, organizations and individuals to apply for the new domain in spring 2014 giving them the first chance to own the new addresses that will be on offer. Companies with registered trademarks will also be able to apply during that time. The news follows the launch last month of four new generic top-level domain (gTDL) names that included words in Chinese and Arabic script after ICANN said it wanted to create a more globally inclusive internet. Until now, only 22 approved gTLDs have existed around the world. Akram Atallah, ICANNs generic domains division president, said the release of new domains could be the biggest change to the internet since its inception.
Posted on: Mon, 18 Nov 2013 06:18:18 +0000