New.net has developed software that makes these new domain names work when entered into a browser, provided New.net's software is supported at either the network level by partner ISPs or on individual’s PCs.
The first 20 top-level domains being released are: .shop, .mp3, .inc, .kids, .sport, .family, .chat, .video, .club, .hola, .soc, .med, .law, .travel, .game, .free, .ltd, .gmbh, .tech and .xxx.
“New.net will dramatically broaden the scope of available domain names,” said David Hernand, CEO of New.net. “Our research has indicated a tremendous market demand to move beyond .com and .net. We believe these new extensions will make it far easier for companies and individuals to market their web sites using more intuitive addresses and for internet users to navigate the web.”
In November 2000, ICANN announced seven new top level domains, namely: .biz, .name, .museum, .pro, .aero, .coop and .info. They were due to become available early this year, but delays now seem likely. ICANN (Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers) manages servers that link domain names to the numerical Internet Protocol addresses of computers connected to the internet. New.net will manage its own network of servers.
The company was started last year with funding from Bill Gross of idealab! in California, a large internet incubator. Its domain names using the initial set of 20 extensions are available on a first-come, first-served basis for a flat fee of $25 per year.
To protect children, the company will require those purchasing domain names ending in .kids to offer web sites that contain child-friendly content and comply with the US Children's Online Privacy Protection Act, and it reserves the right to revoke names that aren't used accordingly.
The company has entered into deals with some ISPs, including EarthLink, Excite@Home, and NetZero, meaning that over 16 million internet users will have access to the New.net domains from this week. Other Web users can activate their internet browsers to recognise the new domain names in a few seconds by visiting www.new.net.
“We believe that New.net's new domains will be particularly attractive to the international community, which has been long-neglected by the existing naming system,” added Hernand. “By adding .gmbh, .ltd and .soc, in addition to .inc, we can provide a more sensible naming system for businesses in a wide variety of countries. And by introducing the .hola extension, we have a unique top-level domain that will appeal to the growing population of Spanish-speaking Internet families in the U.S. and around the world. In addition, New.net's technology will allow the use of foreign-language characters in both the domain name and the extension, unique among naming systems.”
Other companies have tried selling domain names under a system that competes with ICANN’s and New.net will only succeed if it finds sufficient ISPs and users to support it to convince people to buy its names. RealNames, also of the US, markets common words as an alternative to complete internet addresses. The user need only enter a keyword in his or her Internet Explorer browser instead of the “http://www.” prefix, although the system does not work with Netscape Navigator browsers.