New.net's Domain
Play
Selling URLs with 20 new extensions.
Amy Collins
03/05/2001
New.net
has begun offering to register URLs using 20 additional top-level
Internet domains- including the .xxx, .shop, .mp3, and .travel
extensions. With this move, New.net is jumping ahead of the Internet
Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' own plan to add
top-level domains.
New.net was founded in May with funding
from Idealab!,
which launched one-time Web darlings such as eToys
(ETYS,
info)
and CarsDirect.com.
"New.net seeks to become the world's
leading domain name registry by introducing and selling domain names
with new extensions that offer greater relevance and meaning than
current Website addresses ending in .com, .net, and other existing top
level domains," the company states on its Website.
New.net claims 16.4 million Internet
users have access to the new URLs, which can be reached either by
downloading special software, or via a partner Internet Service
Provider, including EarthLink
(ELNK,
info).
New.net is also offering URLs with the
following extensions: .inc, .kids, .sport, .family, .chat, .video,
.club, .hola, .soc, .med, .law, .game, .free, .ltd, .gmbh, and .tech.
Although New.net says it will work with
ICANN as it implements the new names, the move basically is an end-run
around ICANN's own process, which has been criticized as slow and
unresponsive.
ICANN, the non-profit corporation that
was formed to take over from the U.S. government role of domain name
system management, has been developing the following domains: .biz,
.info, .name, .pro, .museum, .aero and .coop. It had hoped to approve
them by the end of 2000, but now says the negotiation process turned out
to be more difficult than expected. The topic is scheduled for
discussion at ICANN meeting in Australia on March 12.
New.net, which registers its new names
for a $25 fee, says it has partnerships with a handful of companies,
including EarthLink, Excite@Home
(ATHM,
info),
NetZero (NZRO,
info)
NetZero, and MP3.com.
The registries for the new domains will be managed by New.net.
The registries of .com, .net and .org are
now managed by VeriSign
(VRSN,
info)
which gained control of all three when it bought Network
Solutions, the one-time monopoly for domain-name registration.
ICANN had previously told VeriSign it
would have to either sell off its entire registry operations, or its
entire domain-name registration business, in order to compete fairly
with other companies. But last week, VeriSign and ICANN announced they
have reached a preliminary agreement that would allow VeriSign to keep
everything except for the .org registry.
Amy
Collins covers business and technology for Business 2.0.
