Internet domain for Asia launched
Businesses and governments can now register for .asia web addresses.
“Our research has found that Asia is one of the most searched-for terms and by having a .asia website, your ranking on Google or Yahoo will become much higher.”
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“It provides an easier way to direct customers to your products”
Edmon Chung, DotAsia
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Prices for website addresses can range from as little as $10 to several hundred dollars, depending on their desirability, Chung said.
Businesses with trademarks, governments and official bodies will be allowed to register website addresses ending with the suffix during the initial offer period.
Meanwhile, the general public will be allowed to bid from February.
Firms and global brands from both inside and outside Asia were likely to be interested, and the suffix would act as a complement to country-specific domains such as .cn for China and .jp for Japan, Chung said.
Auction
He expects tourism bodies to be some of the first groups bidding for domain names, especially those with Asia-specific slogans, such as Hong Kong’s “Asia’s World City” and “Malaysia. Truly Asia.”
The initial bidding period will be used to try and prevent disputes between organisations and individuals vying for a specific domain name, Chung said.
If several claims are deemed equally valid, they will eventually be settled by an auction run by the non-profit group.
Leading domains, which include .asia, country-specific suffixes and around 20 generic names, such as .biz or .org, are regulated by the US-based Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers – with specific addresses sold through registrars.