"What's in a name?", asks Shakespeare's Juliet. "That which we call a rose, by any other name would smell as sweet." However, the battle for new top level domain names which will become available next year suggests that names do indeed matter.
Early next year Icann, the body that oversees the internet's structure, will make it possible to create hundreds of new top-level domain names to rival .com, .net and .org. Currently, there are 21 of these generic names controlled by a handful of companies. There are also 255 country domains, such as .uk and .de run by a government or government-approved organisation. From next year, lots of new names such as .sport, .news, .movies etc will become available.
For example, Al Gore, the former US vice-president and environmental campaigner, announced that he and a business group plan to create a new green internet domain name called .eco.
Applicants for other domains have to submit information to Icann proving they have the financial and technical capabilities to run a top-level internet domain. The process is likely to take several months.
Three potential groups are expected: businesses with trademarks - think .microsoft for example for marketing purposes, to create more memorable internet addresses and for defensive purposes to avoid domain squatting; special interest groups for specific causes to support; entrepreneurs looking to build new ventures around domain names.
